UK credit card borrowing soars by most since 2005 as mortgage approvals slide – as it happened

Number of UK mortgages approved hit two-year low in April, as consumers spend more on credit as inflation rises

• Latest: Mortgage approvals fell below pre-pandemic levels
• Experts: Cost of living squeeze hits housing market
• Consumer credit rises as families are hit by inflation
• Eurozone inflation hits new record
• French growth revised down....Italy revised up

Discount retailer B&M has sunk to the bottom of the FTSE leaderboard, down 9%, after warning that its profit margins will be squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis.

B&M, which sells a wide range of goods including homeware, DIY, food and gardening equipment, says it may need to mark down prices this year.

Given the uncertain macroeconomic outlook, it is difficult to predict the net impact of a number of factors such as customer down-trading, category mix shift and the impact of inflation on sales volumes.