[UK Mortgage Approvals Surprisingly Rise to 15-Month High in April] The Bank of England unexpectedly raised mortgage approvals in April, indicating that the housing market remains resilient despite the impact of the Iran war. Data released by the Bank of England on Tuesday showed that 65,945 mortgage approvals were granted in April, up from 63,979 in March and the highest level since January last year. Economists had previously expected only 62,000 approvals. This increase may reflect a rush to lock in loans in anticipation of further interest rate hikes. However, economists are skeptical, as house price data this week suggests that the housing market lost its strong growth momentum in May. Data shows that the current two-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.68%, still nearly 0.9 percentage points higher than in late February (before the US and Israel attacks on Iran), although the rate has fallen from its recent high.
