"The Halifax data heighten our suspicion that house prices are headed lower over the rest of 2012"
- Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight
U.K. house prices edged lower in July, said the Lloyds Banking Group Plc Halifax mortgage-lending unit on Monday. Prices fell 0.6 per cent to an average of 161,094 pounds, after rising a downwardly revised 0.8 per cent in June.
"The Halifax data heighten our suspicion that house prices are headed lower over the rest of 2012," Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight in London, said in a research note.
"There is a significant and mounting danger that house prices could fall further and longer due to the serious downside risks to the U.K. economic outlook, both from domestic factors and from the euro-zone crisis."
The FTSE 100 Index edged higher 0.37 per cent, or 21.49 points to 5,808.77. The broader FTSE All-Share Index improved 0.47 per cent.
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