U.K. house prices rose higher than market expectations, likely to cool down in 2017

Housing prices in the United Kingdom rose during the month of December, higher than what markets had initially anticipated; however, the pace of growth is expected to slow down gradually in the coming year.

Annual gains stood at 4.5 percent in December, up from 4.4 percent in November. Economists polled this month by Reuters had expected to see growth of 3.8 percent, data released by the Nationwide Building Society showed Thursday.

Further, the statistics agency reiterated a forecast that house prices are likely to grow by around 2 percent in 2017, although the figure would depend on how the economy fares.

"The fact that the housing market is seemingly struggling to build momentum after coming modestly off its August lows reinforces our suspicion that it is likely to find life increasingly difficult as 2017 progresses," Reuters reported, citing Howard Archer, Chief UK and European Economist, IHS Markit.

In December alone, house prices rose 0.8 percent after stagnating in November, Nationwide said. While the month-on-month measure can be volatile, this marked the biggest rise in a year.

Meanwhile, EUR/USD traded at 1.04, up 0.57 percent, while at 10:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at 18.64 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex