Investing.com - Net lending to individuals and households in the U.K. rose more than expected in June, reflecting stronger demand for credit, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Bank of England said total net lending to individuals increased by ₤3.8 billion last month, above forecasts for ₤3.0 billion and up from ₤3.5 billion in April.
Net secured lending rose by ₤2.6 billion in June, above expectations for an increase of ₤2.0 billion, after rising by ₤2.4 billion in May.
Net consumer credit, including personal loans, overdrafts, and credit card lending, increased by ₤1.22 billion, compared to forecasts for ₤1.1 billion and compared to ₤1.057 billion in May.
Meanwhile, the M4 Money Supply decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in June, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.4% and following a gain of 0.5% in May.
The report also showed that the number of final mortgage approvals rose to 66,580 in June from 64,830 in May. Economists had expected mortgage approvals to rise to 66,000 last month.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5614 from around 1.5612 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7086 from 0.7083 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mostly higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.1%, France's CAC 40 added 0.15%, while Germany's DAX shed 0.15%.