Consumer inflation expectations in January remained unchanged at the short- and longer-term horizons and declined slightly at the medium-term horizon, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said today in its most recent Survey of Consumer Expectations. Median inflation expectations at the one- and five-year ahead horizons held steady at 3% and 2.5%, respectively. Inflation expectations at the three-year ahead horizon declined to 2.4% from 2.6%.
Median expected growth in household income increased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.1% in January, remaining above its pre-pandemic February 2020 level of 2.7%, according to the New York Fed. Perceptions of credit access compared to a year ago improved with a decreased share of respondents reporting that it is more difficult to obtain credit now than a year ago, and a larger share reporting that it is now easier to do so. The average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 12.1%.