LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The pound fell as UK mortgage lender Halifax reported the biggest monthly drop in house prices in over 15 years during March.
HBOS PLC unit said house prices fell by a massive 2.5 percent, the worst reading since September 1992 and way below analysts' forecasts for a much smaller 0.4 percent fall.
On a quarterly basis meanwhile, house prices also fell, by 1.0 percent, the biggest quarterly decline since the second quarter of 1995. This took annual house price inflation -- measured on a quarterly basis -- to just 1.1 pct, down from February's 4.2 percent and the smallest increase since March 1996.
At 8:16 a.m. BST, the pound was trading at 1.9785 against the U.S. dollar, down from around 1.9831 just before the figures were released, while the euro rose to 0.7955 pounds from 0.7935 pounds previously. jessica.mortimer@thomson.com jkm/slm COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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