U.K. Mortgage Approvals Decline to Lowest Level in 18 Months

U.K. mortgage approvals fell more than economists forecast in June to an 18-month low as concerns about the euro area mounted and Britain’s recession deepened.

Lenders granted 44,192 loans to buy homes, compared with a revised 50,544 the previous month, the Bank of England said today in London. That’s the lowest since December 2010. Economists predicted that approvals would drop to 48,000, based on the median forecast of 19 estimates in Bloomberg News survey. A separate report showed retail sales slowed in July.