LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - British annual wage growth, excluding bonuses, weakened to 4.2% in the last three months of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected growth in regular average weekly earnings of 4.2%, down from the 4.4% in the three months to November.

The Bank of England is watching pay as a gauge of how long Britain's above-target inflation is likely to last.

Earlier this month the BoE said wage growth in the private sector was starting to reflect the weakening of the jobs market after an unexpectedly strong run.

Investors on Monday were almost fully pricing in two quarter-point interest rate cuts by the end of this year as worries about inflation gave way to concerns about the jobs market and the broader economy.

Last week ONS data showed weaker-than-expected growth in gross domestic product in the October-to-December period, hurt in part by speculation about tax increases in finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget at the end of November.

(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Kate Holton)