U.K. mortgage approvals rise strongly in October

The lending report by U.K. Finance released today provided a good preview of what one can expect from the coming week’s release of the latest BoE lending figures. After a rise to a six-month high in August, mortgage approvals by U.K. retail banks eased for a second straight month in October, implying that the rebound in housing market transactions seen this autumn might be reversed by the end of the year.

However, total new mortgage lending in October came in at GBP 23.1 billion, a rise of 14 percent year-on-year, as remortgage activity rose ahead of the rise in the Bank Rate in November. In the meantime, consumer credit figures hinted that the BoE report might show a deceleration in lending in this category from the 10 percent year-on-year or so rate seen in the last year and a half, said Daiwa Capital Market.

At 18:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of British Pound was neutral at 5.06129, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bearish at -60.2036. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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