Wage slowdown bolsters hopes of UK interest rate cuts [Video]

Hopes of a Bank of England interest rate cut were boosted yesterday after figures showed UK wage growth slowing and unemployment ticking higher – adding to signs that inflation pressure is easing, writes John-Paul Ford Rojas.

But it contrasted with data showing a surprise increase in inflation in the United States.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey warned that despite the apparently “benign” trend of global inflation coming down, the world is “a much more uncertain and dangerous place than we have been used to”.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed unemployment in Britain climbed to 3.9pc in the three months to January, up from 3.8pc, and wage growth slowed from 6.2pc to 6.1pc and job vacancies fell to 908,000.

George Buckley, chief European economist at investment bank Nomura, said: “As we head through the year, we expect the pressure for the Bank to cut rates to build, with labour market data being a …