UK Firms’ Price, Wage Expectations Edge Down in BOE Survey

UK businesses expect to hand workers slightly smaller pay rises and hike prices by less over the next 12 months, an encouraging sign for Bank of England officials who remain wary of elevated expectations.

On average over the fourth quarter, firms polled by the central bank expected wages to rise 3.7%, down 0.1 percentage points from the three months through November. They expected to increase their own prices by 3.6%, also 0.1 points lower on the previous period.