U.S. households predicted last month a sharp pullback in spending plans over the next year, in a report that also found moderating expectations for near-term inflation, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said yesterday, Reuters reported. The bank said that its September Survey of Consumer Expectations survey found that respondents projected their spending will rise by 6% over the next year, a sharp drop from the 7.8% rise predicted in the August survey. The bank noted that decline in spending expectations was the biggest since the survey began in 2013. On the inflation front, households said they were expecting a moderation in near-term price pressure but an increase in price pressures over the longer-run horizon. The survey found that the public sees inflation at 5.4% a year from now, down from 5.7% in August. The September reading was the lowest in a year, the bank said. Three years from now, however, inflation was seen at 2.9%, up from August’s 2.8% reading, while five-year-ahead expected inflation stood at 2.2%, up from the 2% projection seen in the August survey.
