© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A row of residential houses are seen during sunrise in London, Britain, September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
By Andy Bruce
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s housing market slowed dramatically in November and people ramped up borrowing on credit cards, according to Bank of England data on Wednesday that underscored the effects of rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis.
British lenders approved 46,075 mortgages in November, down from 57,875 in October and marking the lowest level since June 2020, when the housing market slowed to a crawl following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to approvals of 55,000.
Consumer credit rose in net terms by 1.5 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) – driven by a 1.2 billion jump in credit card borrowing, the largest such increase since March 2004.
($1 = 0.8286 pounds)
