LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - British employers' expectations for wage growth held at their joint-lowest in nearly four years in February, according to a survey published by the Bank of England, which
UK firms' wage growth expectations stick near 4-year low in February, BoE survey shows
Bank of England Survey Highlights on Wage Growth and Economic Outlook
Overview of Wage Growth Expectations
LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - British employers' expectations for wage growth held at their joint-lowest in nearly four years in February, according to a survey published by the Bank of England, which is looking out for further signs of a slowdown in pay pressure before it next cuts interest rates.
Expected year-ahead wage growth remained at 3.6% on a three-month moving-average basis in February, the joint-lowest reading since the series started in 2022, the monthly Decision Maker Panel survey showed on Thursday.
Price and Staffing Projections
Price Growth Expectations
Companies' expectations for how much they would raise their own prices in the coming 12 months inched down, falling by 0.1 percentage points to 3.4% in the three months to February.
Staffing Level Forecasts
Companies also said they expected to expand staffing levels by 0.1% over the coming year.
Implications for Monetary Policy
Bank of England's Interest Rate Outlook
The central bank is closely monitoring wage growth as it tries to gauge how much inflation pressure remains in the economy and is expected to keep interest rates at 3.75% this month after holding them in February.
Market Reactions and Rate Cut Expectations
Investors trimmed their bets on interest rate cuts by the Bank of England this week and are only pricing in one quarter-point cut this year as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continued to stoke fears about inflation.
Survey Context
Timing of the Survey
The BoE survey was conducted before the most recent Middle East conflict started.
Reporting and Editing Credits
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David Milliken)
