Bank of England Survey: Firms Expect Faster Price Rises but Slower Wage Growth

According to Jin10, a Bank of England survey published Friday found that businesses expected to raise prices for goods and services slightly faster than they had expected the previous month, while wage growth was expected to slow. The Bank surveyed about 1,945 chief financial officers from October 2 to 16. Businesses expected selling prices to rise 3.8% over the next 12 months, up from 3.7% in September, and reported that selling prices had risen 3.8% in the year through October. The Bank said businesses’ expectations for output price inflation over the coming year were unchanged on a three-month average basis. Businesses reported that wages rose 3.9% in the year through October, down from 4% in September, and expected wages to rise 3.4% over the next 12 months. The Bank said this meant businesses expected wage growth to fall by 0.5 percentage points over the next 12 months. It added that there was little evidence that rising inflation was accelerating wage growth and triggering another round of price increases.