UK house prices inched higher in June, Lloyds data shows

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - British house prices ticked higher in June, the first monthly increase since February, mortgage lender Lloyds said on Tuesday, though it cautioned the outlook remained clouded by economic uncertainty.

Lloyds said its measure of British house prices rose by 0.2% in June, leaving them 0.6% higher than a year earlier.

The median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists had predicted a monthly house price rise of 0.1% and an annual rise of 0.8%.

The indicator was known as the Halifax House Price Index until this month.

House prices have been broadly flat since the start of this year, which Lloyds said reflected wider economic uncertainty. Last week Bank of England data showed lenders approved the fewest mortgages since December 2023 in May.

"Looking ahead, we expect the housing market to continue moving at a measured pace," said Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Lloyds.

"The outlook for house prices will depend largely on inflation continuing to ease and household confidence gradually improving."

Financial markets point to a roughly 3-in-4 chance of a quarter-point rise in Bank of England interest rates taking place this year.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by Kate Holton)