Half of UK firms plan to raise prices

Bloomberg

Half of UK businesses expect to increase their prices in response to rising wage costs and supply-chain difficulties.
That’s according to a survey by Lloyds Bank, which said that acute shortages of workers persisted into November. It showed that a quarter of companies expect to increase wages by 3% or more in next year in an effort to retain and attract workers.
The findings are likely to fuel expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates. Inflation is already running at double the 2% target, largely due to surging energy prices. Policy makers fear that higher prices could spread across the economy if left unchecked.
In its latest business barometer, Lloyds said that economic optimism dipped slightly this month due to mounting costs and supply issues, but remained well above its long-term average.