Mortgage approvals edged up in July, according to the Bank of England.

Mortgage approvals for house purchases edged up in July, the third month in a row that has seen a rise, official data has shown.

Money and credit statistics published by the Bank of England showed the housing market remains intact despite fears it might slump ahead of the Autumn Budget .

The rise in approvals came despite a fall in net borrowing of mortgage debt by £900m, with the previous month posting a £3.2bn increase.

The annual growth rate of borrowing by large businesses increased from 5.7 per cent to eight per cent.

The borrowing growth rate for small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) increased from 0.3 per cent to 0.9 per cent, the highest level since August 2021.

Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capi

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