Investing.com - Net lending to individuals and households in the U.K. rose more than expected in September, reflecting stronger demand for credit, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Bank of England said total net lending to individuals increased by ₤4.9 billion last month, above forecasts for ₤4.4 billion and up from ₤4.7 billion in August.
Net secured lending rose by ₤3.6 billion in September, above expectations for an increase of ₤3.5 billion, after rising by ₤3.4 billion a month earlier.
Net consumer credit, including personal loans, overdrafts, and credit card lending, increased by ₤1.261 billion, compared to forecasts for ₤1.1 billion and compared to ₤1.263 billion in August.
Meanwhile, the M4 Money Supply decreased by a seasonally adjusted 1.0% in September, worse than expectations for a decline of 0.2% and following a drop of 0.5% in August.
The report also showed that the number of final mortgage approvals fell to 68,870 last month from 70,660 in August. Economists had expected mortgage approvals to rise to 72,450 in September.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5268 from around 1.5271 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7177 from 0.7176 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were modestly lower. London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.1%, the EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.7%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.85%, while Germany's DAX dropped 0.25%.