--UK May consumer credit 1.321 bln stlg vs Apr 1.716 bln
--UK May net personal borrowing 5.550 bln stlg vs Apr 5.532 bln
--UK May net lending secured on dwellings 4.229 bln stlg
--UK May consumer credit in line with forecasts
--UK May house loan approvals number 107,000 vs Apr 100,000
--UK May gross loans on dwellings 13.371 bln stlg vs Apr 12.872 bln
--UK May net lending secured on dwellings highest on record
--UK May net credit card borrowing 456 mln stlg vs Apr 611 mln

London, June 29 (BridgeNews) - Consumer credit growth in May eased back from the record high levels seen the previous month, coming in at 1.321 billion sterling, compared with 1.716 billion in April. The data issued by the Bank of England showed, however, that mortgage demand was very strong in May. Net lending secured on dwellings was 4.229 billion sterling, the highest level since the current series began in April 1993.
Lending secured on dwellings also rose 0.8% on the month, again a record increase in the current series, and 8.4% on the year. The value of all loans approved was 13.4 billion sterling, which the Bank of England said was around 1.0 billion sterling higher than the average for the three months to April.
The number of loans approved for house purchases, which is a good indicator of future housing market activity, rose to 107,000 in May from 100,000 in April. This was substantially above all recent monthly loan numbers. Throughout 2000, for example, there was never a month when the number of loans approved for house purchases reached the 100,000 mark. The data confirmed the impression that housing market activity is accelerating in the U.K., while other forms of consumer credit demand, although robust, are not spiking upward. Net credit borrowing, for example, fell to 456 million sterling in May from 611 million in April.