Fall in UK wage growth reduces pressure for interest rate rise

Workers' pay packets still increasing slowly despite fresh fall in unemployment

The prospect of a summer increase in interest rates from the Bank of England has receded after the latest official figures showed a fall in wage inflation despite a fresh drop in unemployment.

A near-stalling of the economy in the first quarter of 2018 failed to halt jobs growth but had an impact on earnings growth, which edged lower in the three months to the end of April, according to the Office for National Statistics.