by Stephanie Hughes
Market Place
We are now in what some people at the Bureau of Labor Statistics refer to as “Inflation Week.” That’s because both the consumer price index and producer price index are coming out in the next few days. Those are readings on where inflation has been. Monday, we got a reading on where people think inflation will be: the November survey of consumer expectations from the New York Fed.
It found that consumers believe inflation will be about 3% a year from now, and even lower, around 2.6% in three years. That’s very similar to the way they looked before the pandemic.
“To me, this just seems like it’s all a return to normality,” said Alan Detmeister, an economist for UBS.
He said consumers tend to overestimate where inflation will be. They remember more when prices go up than when they go down.