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UK house prices fell in April
British house prices fell by 0.1% in April as the Iran war hit confidence and drove up borrowing costs.
New data from mortgage lender Halifax that the average house price edged down by 0.1% in April, following a -0.5% fall in March. The average property price has dipped to £299,313, compared with £299,609 a month earlier.
On an annual basis, annual house price inflation slowed to just 0.4%, from 0.8% in the year to March, Halifax’s monthly house price index has found.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, say:
double quotation mark“After a strong start to the year, recent global developments have added a greater degree of uncertainty to the outlook. In particular, higher energy prices have fed into inflation expectations, prompting markets to reassess the path for interest rates – a shift that has already pushed up borrowing costs for many buyers.
“This understandably leads to more caution among some households, with the cost-of-living once again front of mind and extra thought being given to planned property moves.
“Even so, the housing market continues to display the resilience that has been its hallmark in recent years. While activity is likely to cool in the near term, the underlying picture remains one of relative stability, supported by wage growth that continues to outpace house price inflation.
“Another important factor is that the majority of existing homeowners are on fixed-rate mortgages, meaning they are largely insulated from short term changes in interest rates.
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Oil is back over $100 a barrel as the US-Iran ceasefire came under strain, undermining hopes of an early reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
Overnight,the US and Iran exchanged fire, with Tehran accusing Washington of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas.
The US, though, insisted it struck Iranian targets in retaliation for “unprovoked” attacks on three US warships transiting the strait on Thursday.
Cue a predictable jump in the oil price, two days after hopes of a peace deal breakthrough pushed it down.
This morning, Brent is up 1% at $101 a barrel. That’s a fairly modest move, suggesting investors are still hoping that a deal will eventually be reached.
After all, president Donald Trump has described Iran’s attack on US destroyers as “just a love tap”, and insisted the ceasefire between the two countries is still in effect.
Markets have slipped back thanks to questions about whether the US-Iran ceasefire is holding, reports Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank:
double quotation markQuestions around the ceasefire have already had a market impact in Asia overnight, where all the major equity indices have lost ground. That includes the Nikkei (-0.69%), the KOSPI (-0.73%), Hang Seng (-1.17%), CSI 300 (-0.90%) and the Shanghai Comp (-0.43%).
Moreover, European equity futures are down, with those on the FTSE 100 (-0.70%) and the DAX (-0.87%) both lower, although US futures have picked up a bit after yesterday’s losses, with S&P 500 futures up +0.21%.
It’s going to be a busy day in the markets, with April’s US jobs report due at 1.30pm. City traders will also be watching the results of local elections across the UK, where Labour have already lost control of several councils.
The agenda
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7am BST: Halifax house price index
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8.30am BST: UN’s FAO Food Price Index
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1.30pm BST: US non-farm payroll report for April
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3pm BST: University of Michigan survey of US consumer confidence