British mortgage approvals rise to 15-month high, Bank of England data shows

LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - British lenders approved the most mortgages in 15 months in April while consumer credit grew faster than expected, according to Bank of England data, which showed some resilience in the economy despite higher borrowing costs caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

On Tuesday, the BoE said that 65,945 mortgages were approved in April, up from 63,979 in March, the highest point since January 2025. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 62,000 approvals during the month.

Net unsecured lending to consumers rose by £1.859 billion ($2.50 billion), above economists' forecast of a £1.7 billion increase though just below March's £1.904 billion rise.

Paul Dales, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said it was likely that households had "pulled forward" their planned house purchases before mortgage rates rose more.

"If so, mortgage approvals would soon fall back," he said. "That would certainly fit more comfortably with other indicators that show housing market sentiment has soured since the war triggered a jump in mortgage rates."

Britain's housing market has slowed since the war in Iran started in late February, according to other data.

Weaker consumer sentiment and rising mortgage rates since the resurgence of conflict in the Middle East caused lenders like Nationwide Building Society to report the first monthly fall in house prices since December in May.

Figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also showed drops in prices and buyer demand in April.

Net monthly mortgage lending - which reflects completed house purchases and lags behind approvals - fell to a net £4.368 billion ($5.88 billion), the lowest since October 2025 and down from an increase of £6.833 billion in March.

($1 = 0.7427 pounds)

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; Editing by David Milliken and Thomas Derpinghaus)