U.K. mortgage approvals sink to lowest in two years, miss expectations

Mortgage approvals in the United Kingdom sunk its lowest level in almost two years , painting a mixed picture of the country’s housing market since the inception of the Brexit vote on June 23.

UK’s mortgage approvals declined to 60,058, the weakest reading since November 2014, from 60,925 in July, data released by the Bank of England showed Thursday. Economists had forecasted 60,200, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Net lending rose 2.9 billion pounds.

The report also showed that consumer spending remained strong last month, rising by a net 1.6 billion pounds, with annual growth of 10.3 percent, also recording the fastest expansion in more than a decade. The effective interest rate on new secured loans remained at 2.31 percent in August, the lowest since records began in 2004, the BoE said.

Further, the credit data also showed lending to businesses fell in August by 415 million pounds, though it was up an annual 2.4 percent. Credit to small and medium-sized companies increased 1.6 percent year-on-year. Net mortgage lending, which lags approvals, rose 2.943 billion pounds in August, the BoE said, more than a forecast of 2.55 billion pounds in a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, the Prudential Regulation Authority said it will continue to monitor the investment property market in the U.K. and how the standards impact new lending.