US consumers’ short-term inflation expectations fall in February

ISTANBUL

US consumers’ short-term inflation expectations fell to 3% in February, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Survey of Consumer Expectations released on Monday.

Results from the February survey, conducted with roughly 1,200 households, showed that the median inflation expectation for the next 12 months declined by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month to 3%.

Consumers’ medium- and long-term inflation expectations remained unchanged at 3%.

During the same period, the median expected earnings growth fell by 0.2 percentage points to 2.5%.

Labor market expectations showed slight softening, as declining earnings growth expectations and weaker confidence in finding a new job outweighed small improvements in expectations related to job loss and overall unemployment.

Expectations for household income growth were unchanged at 2.9% in February, while expectations for spending growth also held steady at 4.9%.

Price growth expectations declined for several key categories, including food (5.3%), medical care (9.7%), and rent (5.9%). However, expectations increased for gasoline (4.1%) and college education (9.1%).

The February data largely preceded the start of US and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, the last day of the shortest month of the calendar.

In January, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% month-on-month and 2.4% year-on-year.

February inflation data is scheduled to be released on Wednesday.