Americans’ expectations for how much more they will spend next year rose slightly in January to 3 percent, after December’s record low of 2.9 percent, 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 fell slightly, however, landing at 2.2 percent and on a continued decline from early 2015. Credit availability expectations also fell slightly in January.
Consumers said they expected levels of price inflation over the next year to fall, with median expected inflation one year ahead falling to a record low of 2.4 percent. Median inflation uncertainty increased at the one-year and three-year outlooks, both following record lows in December. Home price growth expectations remained at 3 percent, also a record low since the survey’s inception in 2013.
