Economic week ahead

The housing market is in focus this week. Is London’s slowdown spreading, or is it just an isolated correction in the priciest region?

Bank of England lending data on Thursday could show the former. Analysts expect official data for July to show another slip in mortgage approval numbers.

Currently, lenders are ramping up remortgaging business as homeowners lock in low interest rates after the Bank upped rates at the start of this month. But the market for first-time buyers and home movers is more sluggish. The effect of the rate rise is not yet clear. The Bank also puts out July numbers on the rates of interest charged on loans, which will show if banks charged customers more in anticipation of the policy change.

Friday’s Nationwide numbers will show how prices are changing this month.

Economists expect the month-on-month pace to have slowed right down and forecast an increase of just 0.1pc in prices, compared to a rise of 0.6pc last month.