Demand in U.K.’s housing market remains weak

The U.K. Finance showed that demand in the nation’s housing market continues to be weak. While the number of new mortgages approved by high street banks for home purchases has risen steadily since the beginning of the year, they were still down 4.7 percent year-on-year in June. This is in line with expectations of only a very modest rise in property values over the course of this year, noted Daiwa Capital Market Research in a report.

On the contrary, the number of re-mortgages rose 3.4 percent year-on-year as homeowners looked to secure deals ahead of that possible Bank Rate rise next week. Meanwhile, credit card borrowing, on this measure, rose 4.7 percent year-on-year – which U.K. Finance in part apportions to spending during major sporting events such as the football World Cup. Along with a decline in the value of bank overdrafts by 5.8 percent year-on-year, this implies a rebound in both household finances and sentiment, added Daiwa Capital Market Research.

At 20:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of British Pound was neutral at 45.3054, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was highly bearish at -148.09. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex