Market bets on UK rate hike dwindle further

LONDON (Reuters) - Money market bets on a 15 basis point UK rate hike next week fell further to around 40% on Thursday, compared to 46% on Wednesday and nearly 70% at the beginning of last week, according to Refinitiv data.

Britain's decision to impose restrictions to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant has dampened bets on the Bank of England raising interest rates next week despite a surge in inflation and strong labour market data.

(Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; editing by Yoruk Bahceli)