UK house prices beat expectations in January: Nationwide

LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices rose more than economists had expected in January, adding to signs that the squeeze from high interest rates is beginning to ease, figures from mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society showed on Wednesday.

Nationwide said house prices in January rose 0.7% month on month after being flat in December, beating economists' forecast in a Reuters poll for a 0.1% rise.

Prices in January were 0.2% lower than a year earlier versus forecasts for a 0.9% decline and a 1.8% fall in December.

(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William James)