LONDON (Reuters UK) - Mortgage approvals for house purchase rose faster than expected in September to their highest level since March 2008, but borrowing on credit cards fell to its lowest since last December, official data showed on Thursday.
The Bank of England said mortgage approvals numbered 56,215 in September, up from 52,970 in August, suggesting that the recovery in the housing market has further to run. Analysts had forecast a reading of 54,000.
Total consumer credit remained subdued as consumers repaid debt for a third consecutive month, although the repayment of 262 million pound in September was slightly less than the 373 million repaid in August.
Consumers borrowed only 79 million pounds on their credit cards in September, the lowest amount since last December.
The Bank's preferred gauge of money supply, M4 excluding intermediate other financial corporations, fell 0.9 percent on the month after a 0.1 percent rise in August. On a quarterly basis, M4 excluding intermediate OFCs was 2.3 percent higher than a year earlier in the three months to September.
Britain's central bank is close to completing a 175 billion pound quantitative easing programme, designed to boost the money supply and help kick-start the economy. It will decide next week whether to extend the scheme.
