Pressure is mounting on the Bank of England to raise interest rates by another 0.25% next week, after new figures from the Office for National Statistics showed average earnings in the three months to July were up by 8.5% on the year. Annual inflation slowed to 6.8% in July. Wages have now pipped inflation for first time in nearly two years…

At the same time, there are signs the labour market is cooling. Unemployment rose again for the third consecutive month to 4.3% while vacancies continued to fall. Jeremy Hunt is keeping a brave face this morning:

“It’s heartening to see the number of employees on payroll is still close to record highs and that our unemployment rate remains below many of our international peers. Wage growth remains high, partly reflecting one-off payments to public sector workers, but for real wages to grow sustainably we must stick to our plan to halve inflation.”

Governor Andrew Bailey has suggested the Bank is nearing the end of its now-monthly interest rate hikes, although yesterday his Monetary Policy Committee colleague Catherine Mann urged officials to “err on the side of tightening further“. All eyes on Threadneedle Street next week…