London

UK mortgage approvals fell to the lowest in more than a year in October, adding to signs the property market is cooling. Approvals declined to 59,426, the lowest since June 2013, from 61,234 in September, the Bank of England (BOE) said on Monday. The median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg News survey was a reading of 59,000. Net lending on homes rose 1.5 billion, the least in 11 months.

Britain's housing market has lost momentum in recent months after the BOE introduced new curbs on risky lending and warned of the threat of a property bubble. The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee will keep the key interest rate at a record-low 0.5 per cent this week as the economy battles headwinds from the euro-area.