UK house prices rise for fifth month in July, ONS says By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – British house prices rose by an annual 2.2% in July, the fifth monthly rise in a row but the pace of increase cooled and was below a revised 2.7% increase in the 12 months to June, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

The ONS said house prices in London fell 0.4%.

Other indicators of Britain’s property sector have shown a recovery as demand improved after a cut in borrowing costs.

But no change in British consumer price inflation in data published earlier on Wednesday prompted investors to trim expectations of a cut in interest rates by the Bank of England on Thursday.

The ONS also said its gauge of private rents rose by 8.4% in the year to August.