Housing downturn gathers pace

By Matt Falloon

LONDON (Reuters) - House prices suffered their most widespread decline across Britain for 30 years and retail sales fell for a second consecutive month in April, surveys showed on Tuesday, in a sign the economic slowdown is worsening.

The weak figures are likely to worry both Bank of England policymakers and out-of-favour Prime Minister Gordon Brown as the economy loses momentum but inflation intensifies as the impact of the global credit crunch deepens.

Manufacturers ramped up prices at the sharpest pace in at least 22 years last month, battling the fastest rise in costs on record, and economists expect headline consumer price inflation to remain well above the Bank's 2 percent target for some time.

Consumer price inflation data is due at 9:30 a.m..

"If you thought housing was weak in March ... it pales in comparison to the latest survey," said George Buckley, an economist at Deutsche Bank who expects house prices to fall about 10 percent this year.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its house price balance fell to -95.1 in the three months to April from -79.4 in March -- the weakest since the series began in January 1978 and well below forecasts for a reading of -80.0.

The balance fell in every region compared with March.

Bank arch-dove policymaker David Blanchflower warned last month that house prices could slump by almost a third unless aggressive remedial action was taken.