US inflation expectations revised up in November

ISTANBUL

Inflation expectations in the US were revised up in November, according to the University of Michigan's consumer survey final results released Wednesday.

Year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 4.5% in November, recording the highest reading since April 2023, and revised up from the 4.4% level in the preliminary results released two weeks ago.

The figure showed gains from October’s 4.2% level and September’s 3.2% reading.

Long-run inflation expectations also rose, from 3.0% last month to 3.2% this month, and marked the highest reading since 2011.

"These expectations have risen in spite of the fact that consumers have taken note of the continued slowdown in inflation; consumers appear worried that the softening of inflation could reverse in the months and years ahead," said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.

The index of consumer sentiment declined 2.5 percentage points to 61.3 in November, from 63.8 in October, according to the final readings.

The market expectation for the index was to come in at 60.4.

"While this marks the fourth consecutive month of declines, November’s reading reflects a balance of factors, some of which improved while others worsened," said Hsu.

"More-favorable current assessments and expectations of personal finances were offset by a notable deterioration in expected business conditions. In particular, long-run business conditions plunged by 15% to its lowest since July 2022," she added.

The index of current economic conditions fell 2.3 percentage points to 68.3 in November, from 70.6 in October, according to the final survey results.

The index of consumer expectations decreased 2.5 points to 56.8 from 59.3 during that period.