Housing Market adding to sterling slump

The pound has fallen against major currencies as the UK housing market is in the process of deepening, as properties are taking longer to turnover.

The British pound is at a 4-day low against the Swiss franc and 5-day lows against the dollar and the euro.

There was a direct trigger between the pound and the property market following a report by the Financial Times which indicated that more than 20 percent of homebuyers with a poor credit history had fallen behind on their mortgage repayments.

The British Banking Association statistics director, David Dooks, said that the £18 billion of new lending approved and almost 150,000 loans approved in April, the mortgage market has not stalled although the market is very slow.

Gilts handed investors a 1.2 percent loss in the past two weeks as the UK plans to sell 2.25 billion pounds of 2055 at an auction on the 3rd June.

The pound is also under pressure as investors are wary over the role of the Bank of England whose direction over weaker growth and rising inflation is not clear, so the currency may fall to 81 pence per euro over the next three months.

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