LONDON (Reuters) -British pay rose by more than expected in the three months to October, official data showed on Tuesday, potentially adding to the Bank of England’s caution about how quickly to cut interest rates.
Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, were 5.2% higher in the three months to the end of October than a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said.
A Reuters poll of economists had mostly forecast regular wage growth of 5.0%.
In the private sector alone, earnings excluding bonuses rose by 5.4% in the August-to-October period, the fastest increase since the three months to May this year.
Sterling jumped by around a third of a cent against the U.S. dollar immediately after the figures were published.
