UK house prices decline, GBP pound falls in currency trading. | CountingPips Forex & Currency Trading Blog

April 8, 2008 - Forex Economic News

UK house prices decline, GBP pound falls in currency trading.

The British pound sterling fell in the currency trading markets today after a key housing report showed that UK house prices declined in March. The Halifax House Price Index today showed that UK house prices dropped by 2.5 percent in March compared to February and had the largest monthly fall since 1992. First quarter house prices were down 1.0 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 and prices are up by only 1.1 percent from a year ago. February house prices showed a revised 0.4 percent drop but were up by 4.2 percent when compared to a year earlier. The March house price drop was much larger than expected as economic forecasts were expecting a 0.3 percent fall. The largest decreases in house prices were seen in West Midlands and Wales, which fell 5.0 and 4.7 percent, respectively. The areas with the largest increases in house prices were East Midlands at 2.2 percent and Greater London at 1.6 percent.

Today's news contributed to speculation that the Bank of England will reduce its interest rate at its scheduled meeting on Thursday. The BoE held its interest rate steady at 5.25 percent in March after reducing its rate by 25 basis points in February. The pound fell against all of the major currencies today in currency trading as the pound hit a record low against the euro. The pound declined to a record 79.88 pence per euro and also fell to a six week low verses the U.S. dollar.

Tags: uk, currency trading, house prices, forex trading, Halifax Index, gbp pound sterling, euro, usd

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