Mortgage approvals jump in November
Mortgage approvals jumped 6.8 per cent last month, reaching the highest level in almost two years.
Remortgage approvals soared 12.7 per cent during the month while gross mortgage lending dipped 3.3 per cent last month compared to the same month last year.
Read more: First time buyer mortgage approvals increase in October
EY Item Club chief economic advisor Howard Archer said: “A significant upward surprise as UK Finance reported mortgage approvals for house purchases jumped to a near three-year high of 43,700 in November.
“They had previously fallen back over the previous three months to a seven-month low of 42.1k in October.
“It is difficult to assess why mortgage approvals spiked in November. One possibility could be that some house buyers were keen to get their move done before the General Election due to uncertainties.”
Credit card spending hit £10.9bn in November, a drop of 3.3 per cent compared to 2018, while repayments remained in line showing that consumers continued to manage their finances responsibly.
The level of credit card borrowing grew 2.2 per cent in the year to November, according to UK Finance data.
Personal borrowing through loans jumped 3.6 per cent and overdraft borrowing dipped 0.8 per cent year on year.
Meanwhile, personal deposits grew by 2.6 per cent in the year to November and three quarters of deposits were held in immediate access accounts.