UK wage growth slows to four point five percent as markets eye interest rate cuts

British annual wage growth excluding bonuses was 4.5% in the three months to November, representing a slowdown from 4.6% in the three months to October. This latest figure released by the Office for National Statistics met the expectations of a Reuters poll of economists who had mostly forecast regular wage growth of 4.5%.

Following the report, financial markets on Monday showed that at least one 0.25 percentage-point interest rate cut was fully priced in for 2026. Traders also indicated a roughly two-thirds chance of two interest rate cuts occurring during the same year. The Bank of England watches pay as a gauge of how long the still high rate of inflation in Great Britain GBis likely to last.