{"id":56714,"date":"2025-12-01T05:38:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T09:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/uk-economy-navigates-mixed-signals-money-supply-contracts-manufacturing-edges-up-and-housing-market-cools\/56714\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T05:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T09:38:16","slug":"uk-economy-navigates-mixed-signals-money-supply-contracts-manufacturing-edges-up-and-housing-market-cools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/uk-economy-navigates-mixed-signals-money-supply-contracts-manufacturing-edges-up-and-housing-market-cools\/56714\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Economy Navigates Mixed Signals: Money Supply Contracts, Manufacturing Edges Up, and Housing Market Cools"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The UK&#39;s M4 money supply experienced a month-over-month contraction of <strong>0.2% in October<\/strong>, reversing the previous month&#39;s growth.<\/li>\n<li>The manufacturing sector <em>edged into expansion<\/em> in November, with the S&amp;P Global UK Manufacturing PMI rising to <strong>50.2<\/strong>, marking the first growth since September 2024.<\/li>\n<li>The housing market showed signs of <em>cooling<\/em> in October, as <strong>mortgage approvals declined to 65.0K<\/strong> and net lending secured on dwellings fell significantly to <strong>\u00a34.3 billion<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Consumer borrowing also decelerated, with <strong>net consumer credit dropping to \u00a31.1 billion<\/strong> in October.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The UK economy presented a mixed bag of data in recent releases, with a notable contraction in the monthly money supply, a slight improvement in manufacturing activity, and a cooling trend in both the housing market and consumer credit. These figures provide a nuanced picture for policymakers at the Bank of England (<a href=\"\/stock\/BOE\">BOE<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>The broad measure of money supply, M4, saw a <strong>0.2% month-over-month contraction in October<\/strong>, a significant shift from the 0.6% growth recorded in the previous month. Annually, M4 money supply growth also decelerated slightly to <strong>3.5%<\/strong> in October, down from 3.6% (revised from 3.7%) in September. However, M4 excluding intermediate other financial corporations (IOFCs) showed a 3-month annualised increase to <strong>4.7%<\/strong>, up from 4.4% (revised from 4.5%).<\/p>\n<p>In a more positive development, the UK manufacturing sector recorded its first increase in activity since September 2024. The S&amp;P Global UK Manufacturing PMI for November rose to <strong>50.2<\/strong>, up from 49.7 in October, aligning with preliminary estimates. This reading, which is above the neutral 50.0 mark, indicates a return to growth for the sector, driven by improved domestic demand and a more moderate decline in export orders.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the housing market exhibited signs of <em>softening<\/em> in October. Mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased to <strong>65.0K<\/strong>, falling from 65.9K in September, although this was still slightly above the estimated 64.5K. Net lending secured on dwellings also saw a substantial drop to <strong>\u00a34.3 billion<\/strong> in October, below both the previous month&#39;s \u00a35.5 billion and the estimated \u00a34.5 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Consumer borrowing also experienced a slowdown. Net consumer credit in October fell to <strong>\u00a31.1 billion<\/strong>, missing the estimated \u00a31.3 billion and significantly lower than the previous month&#39;s \u00a31.5 billion. On a year-over-year basis, consumer credit growth eased to <strong>7.2%<\/strong>, from 7.3% (revised from 7.2%) previously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways The UK&#39;s M4 money supply experienced a month-over-month contraction of 0.2% in October, reversing the previous month&#39;s growth. 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