Consumer inflation expectations in March remained unchanged at the short-term horizon, grew at the medium-term horizon and decreased at the long-term horizon, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said today in its most recent Survey of Consumer Expectations. Median one-year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 3% in March. However, median three-year-ahead inflation expectations increased from 2.7% to 2.9% while median five-year-ahead expectations decreased from 2.9% to 2.6%.
Median expected growth in household income was unchanged at 3.1% in March, according to the New York Fed. Median household spending growth expectations declined by 0.2 percentage points to 5.0%. Perceptions of credit access compared to a year ago improved slightly with a larger share of respondents reporting that it was easier to obtain credit than 12 months ago, and a slightly smaller share of respondents reporting that it was harder to obtain credit. The average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months rose by 1.5 percentage points to 12.9%.
