Czech Wage Rise Slows

Czech wage growth slowed in the third quarter but still ran at its second fastest pace since 2009 to remain the main demand driver in the overheating economy, data showed on Monday, Reuters reported. The average gross monthly wage grew by 4.2% from a year ago in real terms in the third quarter, as rising inflation bit, the Czech Statistical Bureau said. Nominal wages jumped by 6.8%. The market had expected a 5.1% real terms increase, according to a Reuters poll, after a 5.3% rise in the previous quarter. The weaker number may cool chances the central bank may deliver another interest rate increase in December, following rate hikes in August and November which put the main repo rate at 0.5%. “We can expect that year-on-year growth in the average nominal wages will accelerate in the coming quarters and wage development will remain the key argument for further growth in the central bank’s interest rates,” Radomir Jac, chief economist at Generali Investments CEE, said in a note.