29.06.201704:56:00UTC+00UK Mortgage Approvals Rise Slightly In May

UK mortgage approvals increased slightly in May, figures published by the Bank of England showed Thursday.

The number of mortgages approved in May totaled 65,202 compared to 65,051 in the previous month. Approvals were forecast to fall to 64,000.

Total lending rose GBP 5.3 billion compared to April's GBP 4.2 billion increase. Within total, secured lending grew GBP 3.5 billion, bigger than April's GBP 2.8 billion growth and the expected rise of GBP 2.6 billion.

At the same time, consumer credit gained GBP 1.7 billion after rising GBP 1.5 billion in April. The expected growth was GBP 1.4 billion.

M4 growth eased to 6.7 percent in May from 8.2 percent in April. Month-on-month, M4 dropped 0.1 percent, which was the first drop in three months.