Americans’ expectations for how much they will spend next year fell in December to 2.9 percent, the lowest level since the survey’s inception in 2013 and down sharply from 3.5 percent in November, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations. The outlook for household income growth over the next year also declined in December, landing at 2.3 percent and on a continued decline from early 2015. Credit availability expectations were unchanged from November.
Consumers said they expected levels of price inflation over the next year to remain the same, and median inflation uncertainty nearly the same as November, which was a record low of 2.5 percent. Home price growth expectations fell to 3 percent, the same level as both February and August 2015, also record lows.
