New York, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumers expect inflation to edge higher over the next few years, while their views of current and future credit conditions worsened in September, according to a New York Federal Reserve Bank survey.
Data released on Tuesday showed that the three-year median inflation expectation rose to 3% from 2.8% in August, the highest level in nearly a year. One-year inflation expectations rose to a three-month high of 3.7%.
While five-year inflation expectations have declined (to 2.8 per cent from 3 per cent in August), uncertainty about future inflation has increased slightly across all time frames.
Fed officials have been aggressively raising interest rates to tame the worst inflation in decades. It is unclear whether they will tighten monetary policy further at the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting. Policy makers have repeatedly said they are likely to keep borrowing costs at elevated levels into next year.
While U.S. inflation has fallen sharply from its June 2022 peak, it remains above the Fed's 2 percent target. That's partly because the labor market remains resilient, giving consumers an incentive to keep spending.
The International Monetary Fund earlier on Tuesday raised its global inflation forecast and called on central banks to keep monetary policy tight until price pressures ease in a lasting way. Economists within the Fed also don't think price growth will return to target anytime soon.
Perceptions of credit conditions deteriorated
Respondents also believe the average probability of not being able to pay their minimum debt in the next three months is 12.5%, the highest level since May 2020.
Consumers' perceptions of current and future credit availability have deteriorated slightly. Higher borrowing costs have affected perceptions of people's ability to get a loan, with more households saying it is more difficult to get credit now than a year ago, while the share saying it is easier to get credit has fallen.
While wage growth and savings levels remain supportive of consumer spending, some Americans are turning to credit cards to cover living expenses, feeling the pinch from rising interest rates. The resumption of student loan payments this month could also strain their budgets.