U.K. Mortgage Approvals Increase to Highest in 20 Months

U.K. mortgage approvals rose in August to the highest in 20 months as borrowing costs at a record low helped provide support to the housing market.

Lenders granted 52,410 loans to buy homes, the most since December 2009, compared with a revised 49,644 in July, the Bank of England said today in London. Economists forecast that approvals would rise to 49,700 from an initially reported 49,239 in July, based on the median forecast of 18 economists in Bloomberg News survey.