UK house prices fall 0.6% in October, steepest drop in over three years

■ Steady

Bank of England raises rates to 4% as house prices fall for a fourth month

On Friday, Lloyds reported that the average UK property price fell 0.6% in October to £296,285, the fourth consecutive monthly decline and the steepest drop in over three years. Also on Friday, an energy minister pressed the bosses of Great Britain's biggest suppliers to do more to help households with unpaid bills this winter. On Thursday the Bank of England lifted its base rate from 3.75% to 4%, its first increase since August 2023.

• Lloyds says high mortgage rates are weighing on the housing market.
• The government plans to spend almost £2.5bn to pay down the energy debts of about 2.4m of the hardest-hit households.
• The rate rise aims to curb rising inflation as the Iran war keeps pushing up energy costs.
• On Wednesday sterling reached its highest level against a basket of currencies since the Brexit referendum a decade ago.