Official figures show that wages in Britain are rising faster than prices, a positive development for households that will likely fuel expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates again next month.
The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that average weekly earnings in the three months to February were up 2.8 percent from the year before. That’s above the 2.7 percent inflation recorded during the month and suggests that the immediate squeeze on household incomes, largely stoked by Britain’s vote in June 2016 to leave the European Union, has come to an end.
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The Bank of England has hinted it could raise its main interest rate by a quarter-point to 0.75 percent at its May 10 meeting to get inflation back to its 2 percent target.
