020 7898 0500Despite the pound’s strong performance yesterday, there was some disappointing economic data from the UK. In a clear sign that British households have curbed their spending, unsecured consumer credit grew by just 9.6% in October compared to the same time last year, and it is a drop from 9.8% in September. That is the smallest rise since April 2016 and will add to concerns that UK households are beginning to feel the effects of inflation outpacing wage growth.
Meanwhile, mortgage approvals for October also came in below forecast. They were expected to be 65,000, but they were 64,575 which is the lowest level since September last year. In addition, mortgage lending was £3.4 billion in October against an expectation of £3.6 billion. Still, given the potential breakthrough in the Brexit negotiations, this data largely fell by the wayside.
Today’s major release is the consumer confidence for November. It was -10 in October and is expected to rise to -8 in November. Finally, we have the Nationwide house prices released, on both a monthly and annual basis.
