Official figures show that wage growth in the UK moderated in the three months to May, a development that’s unlikely to change expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates next month. The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that average weekly earnings during the period were 2.7 percent higher than the year before. Though down on the previous 2.8 percent, wages are still higher than headline inflation, which in the year to May was 2.4 percent. That means that household incomes continue to grow following a long squeeze when inflation outstripped earnings. The Bank of England is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate on Aug. 2 to 0.75 percent partly because of the improvement in living standards. Published in Daily Times, July 18th 2018.