by John Carney
Breitbart.com
The University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer expectations for inflation over the next 12 months surged higher in early February, indicating that American households think inflation will go much higher over the coming year.
Consumers expect prices to rise 4.3 percent, a big increase from 3.3 percent in January. This is the highest expected inflation since November 2023 and only the fifth time in 14 years that the University of Michigan’s survey recorded a gain of one percent or more in a single month.
The gain was driven by increased expectations of rising prices among Democrats. Republican consumers expect zero inflation over the next year, slightly lower than a month ago. Independents expect a 3.7 percent increase, more than they did a month ago and up from around three percent at the end of 2024. Democrats, who expected around 2.5 percent inflation before the November election, now say they expect prices to rise 5.1 percent this year.