NY Fed finds mixed outlook for inflation expectations in March

Americans’ outlook for inflation was mixed last month amid expectations for bigger prices rises across a range of key goods and services, as worries about missing debt payments mounted, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday.

The bank found in its March Survey of Consumer Expectations that the public sees inflation a year from now at 3%, unchanged from the prior month. The expected level of inflation three years from now rose to 2.9% from 2.7% in February, while five years from now inflation is seen at 2.6% from the prior month’s prediction of 2.9%.

The survey found that while overall expectations were mixed for inflation over coming years, the public in March forecast bigger rises in food, gasoline, rent, college and medical costs a year from now compared to February. Meanwhile, the expected rise of home prices a year from now held steady at 3% for the sixth straight month.

The New York Fed report on what consumers foresee for the economy comes as Fed officials, traders and investors are trying to divine whether unexpectedly sturdy inflation gains at the start of the year mean that last year’s swift retreat in inflation has stalled.

 

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