2017.03.2405:47:00UTC+00UK Mortgage Approvals At 3-Month Low

UK mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to a three month low in February, British Bankers' Association said Friday.

The number of mortgages approved for house purchases fell to 42,613 in February from 44,142 in January. This was the lowest since November. The expected level for February was 44,900.

Gross mortgage borrowing of GBP 13.4 billion in February was 4.6 percent higher than in the same month last year. At the same time, net mortgage borrowing grew 2.5 percent from prior year.

Consumer credit logged a 6.6 percent annual growth. There was some slackening in the annual growth rate for personal loans and overdrafts while that for credit card strengthened slightly.

Eric Leenders, BBA Managing Director for Retail Banking said, "Elevated approval volumes for house purchases and re-mortgaging experienced during the winter months fell back in February, to average levels seen throughout most of last year."