UK mortgage approvals and consumer credit down in November 2018

November 2018 UK mortgage approvals and consumer credit data 4 January 2019

Mortgage approvals 63,728 vs 66,500 exp. Prior 67,086
Mortgage lending 3.453bn vs 3.955bn exp. Prior 4.121bn. revised to 4.089bn
BOE consumer credit 0.924bn vs 0.950bn exp. Prior 0.894bn. Revised to 0.754bn
Of which credit card lending 0.389bn vs 0.359bn prior. Revised to 0.268bn
Non-financial lending 3.476bn vs 1.634bn prior. Revised to 1.624bn
Of which SME lending 0.169bn vs -0.443bn prior. Revised to -0.445bn

Credit growth to a near 4 year low and mortgages down. Although the wires are blaming Brexit as usual, it’s also a seasonal thing too. Housing activity tends to slow at this time of year. Credit growth slowing isn’t a bad thing either considering the consumer is still spending as well.