UK Consumer Borrowing and Mortgage Lending Rise in May

Britain’s consumer borrowing and mortgage lending gathered momentum last month, suggesting economic growth will beat a weak start to 2017 as the Bank of England considers when to start to raise interest rates.

BoE data on Thursday showed growth in unsecured consumer borrowing picked up to 10.2 percent on an annualised basis in the three months to May from April’s 9.7 percent, its joint highest reading since November.

BoE Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday that the central bank would discuss over the coming months when to start to raise interest rates from their current record low, prompting markets to bring forward bets on when rates will rise.

Economic data has been mixed so far this quarter, but Thursday’s figures exceeded expectations.

Reuters

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Craig Erlam

Craig Erlam

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary.

His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News.

Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.