British annual inflation dropped further last month on easing transport costs, official data showed Wednesday, but remains above 10 percent, prolonging a cost-of-living crisis that has sparked massive strikes.

British inflation fell by more than expected in January and there were signs of cooling price pressure in parts of the economy watched closely by the Bank of England, adding to signs that further hefty interest rate hikes are unlikely.

British employers expect to raise wages for their staff by the most in at least 11 years but the 5% pay deals for workers would still fall well below expected inflation, a survey published on Monday showed.

French railway worker Franck Viger-Brunet says he and his comrades have to count carefully the costs of going on strike to force President Emmanuel Macron to back down on plans to hike the retirement age by two years to 64.

Half a million workers went on strike in Britain on Wednesday, calling for higher wages in the largest such walkout in over a decade, closing schools and severely disrupting transport.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday that a return to deflation in the world's third-largest economy cannot be ruled out, because domestic demand remains weak.

The National Education Union declared seven days of walkouts in February and March after nine out of 10 union teacher members voted for strike action.

Since at least the early 1980s, household debt-to-income ratios have been increasing dramatically.

Since industrial action first started to gather speed last year, concerns have been raised about a wage-price spiral causing entrenched inflation.

British private-sector economic activity fell at its fastest rate in two years in January, a survey showed on Tuesday, as businesses blamed higher Bank of England interest rates, strikes and weak consumer demand for the slowdown.

The main nursing union accuses the government of failing to negotiate seriously on improving their pay deal for the current year.

Pay awards by British employers held at 5% for the second month in a row in December, well below annual inflation of close to 11%, data from human resources company XpertHR showed on Wednesday.

Steps taken by the government so far to try to generate growth have been questionable.

The High Pay Centre, which compiled the report using company data and official statistics, called for a more "even" distribution of income.

Military personnel stood in for passport control staff at UK airports on Friday as Border Force officers walked out in an escalating wave of public sector strikes over pay.

UK nurses stage unprecedented walkout

A ninth interest rate hike in a row by the Bank of England looks to be a foregone conclusion on Thursday and investors will be looking for clues on how many more will be needed with the economy sliding into recession but inflation still above 10%.

British inflation slowed more than expected in November but remained near the highest level in more than 40 years, official data showed Wednesday, as a cost-of-living crisis sparks fresh UK strikes.

Britain's jobless rate rose for a second month and there were other signs in data on Tuesday that some of the inflationary heat in the labour market is cooling as the economy stumbles, including an increase in older people looking for work.

British nurses will go on strike this week, hitting already stretched hospitals and cranking up pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to quell the biggest wave of industrial action to hit the country in decades.

The Bank of England will add another 50 basis points to Bank Rate next week and take borrowing costs to 3.50%, despite the economy falling into recession, as it battles inflation running at more than five times its target, a Reuters poll found.

A group of 17 investors managing 3.2 trillion pounds ($3.82 trillion) have called on Britain's biggest listed employers to offer more support to low-paid workers as inflation drives a sharp rise in the cost of living.

Tesco, one of Britain's largest private-sector employers, is offering its staff advances on their pay in the latest sign of the distress arising from a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

British inflation has jumped to a 41-year high on soaring energy and food bills in a worsening cost-of-living crisis, data showed Wednesday on the eve of a key budget.

British employers are planning the biggest pay hikes in a decade to fill roles but real-term wages will still grow more slowly than inflation, a survey showed on Monday.

Britain's economy shrank in the third quarter as inflation soars, official data showed Friday, likely confirming it is already in a recession, dealing a fresh blow to new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Greek workers went on a day-long strike on Wednesday, demanding higher wages to cope with surging inflation, as Europe's soaring energy prices and living costs trigger industrial action and protests across the continent.

Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds has offered UK staff a minimum 2,000 pounds ($2,242) pay rise, a source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, as lenders and employees across the sector begin annual pay talks that could see wage bills soar.

Thousands of Spaniards packed Madrid's landmark Plaza Mayor square on Thursday to demand higher pay in the first mass protest since the start of the cost of living crisis.

Germany's economy unexpectedly grew in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, but slowing growth in France and Spain added to fears that high inflation and an energy crisis will tip the region into recession.