BOE Survey Points to Cooling Price Pressures

By Paul Hannon

U.K. businesses polled in August expected to raise their prices at a slower pace than they did in July, according to a Bank of England survey released Friday.

Some 2,012 chief financial officers were questioned between August 7 and 21, with energy prices having remained high as the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange fire in a conflict now in its seventh month.

The survey found that businesses expected the prices they charge to rise by 3.8% over the coming 12 months, a decrease from the 3.9% expected in July. Businesses reported that the prices they charge increased by 3.7% in the year to August.

Signs of a slowdown in planned price rises are further evidence that the jump in energy costs since the war began has yet to trigger a broader-based pickup in inflation. The BOE's rate setters meet later this month, and are expected to leave their key interest rate at 3.75%.

Businesses also reported that they expect wages to rise by 3.4% over the 12 months from August, unchanged from July. However, since they reported that wages rose by 4% in the year to August, that indicates they expect pay to cool, another source of comfort for rate setters.

Write to Paul Hannon at paul.hannon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 04, 2026 05:00 ET (09:00 GMT)