Mortgage lending rises 7 percent in October

LONDON (Reuters) - Mortgage lending rose for the first time since July in October, up 7 percent from the month before, but is still 44 percent lower than the same time last year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said on Thursday.

Mortgage lending totalled 18.7 billion pounds in October, up from September's 17.5 billion but well below the 33.4 billion lent in October 2008.

"While lending in October ticked up from a low figure in the preceding month, the outlook is one of continuing weakness for housing and mortgage markets in the coming months, despite the Bank (of England) rate cuts in October and November," the CML said.

"Consumer confidence is now being affected by the worsening economic outlook. However, any recovery in lending is also being held back by the continuing shortage of mortgage funding," the CML added.

There are 11.7 million mortgages worth a total of 1.2 trillion pounds.

(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Chris Pizzey)