(Reuters) – British lenders approved fewer mortgages than expected in November and consumer lending increased at the weakest pace since mid-2022, according to Bank of England data that chimed with other indications of a slowing economy.
Mortgage approvals fell to 65,720 mortgages in November from 68,129 in October, the lowest reading since August.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to approvals of around 68,500.
The data also showed a smaller-than-expected net increase in consumer lending, which fell to 878 million pounds ($1.09 billion) in November from 995 million pounds in October – marking the smallest increase since June.
The annual growth rate of consumer credit cooled in November to 6.6% from 7.3%, the slowest pace since June 2022, the BoE data showed.
($1 = 0.8064 pounds)
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by William James and David Milliken)
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