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LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - British mortgage approvals for house purchase were slightly higher than expected in April, but still at a subdued level that points to further house price falls, official data showed on Tuesday.
The Bank of England said there were 43,201 mortgage approvals in April, up from 40,038 in March and better than analysts' forecasts of 41,000 -- though well below last year's level of 55,280, when house prices were falling rapidly.
April's data marks the third consecutive monthly rise in mortgage approvals and shows banks are becoming more open to lending and that the worst may be over for the housing market.
However, the level is still much lower than the average number of mortgages approved during Britain's housing boom, which caused prices to triple from the start of the decade to their peak in late 2008 before tumbling by around a fifth to date.
"April's household borrowing figures provide further evidence that housing market activity is gradually strengthening, but the big picture is that it remains extremely subdued," said Vicky Redwood, UK economist at Capital Economics.
"Approvals are still a long way from the 75,000-or-so level that in the past has been consistent with house price inflation."
Net mortgage lending was roughly in line with analysts' forecasts, rising by 973 million pounds, though this pales in comparison with a 5.604 billion pound increase in April last year.
Consumer credit issuance was stronger than forecast at 314 million pounds in April, but remained at a very low level. (Reporting by Sumeet Desai and David Milliken; editing by Stephen Nisbet)