**UK wages rise at fastest pace in two decades, putting pressure on Bank of England**
**LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) – British workers’ pay excluding bonuses rose at the fastest annual pace in more than two decades in the three months to August, putting pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates more aggressively to curb surging inflation.**
**Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses rose by 5.4% in the three months to August, up from 5.2% in the three months to July, the Office for National Statistics said. That was the strongest annual growth since August 2001.**
**The BoE raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 2.25% this month, the biggest increase since 1995, and markets expect the central bank to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points in November.**
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