LONDON: The British public’s expectations for inflation over the next 12 months edged up in August, a survey for Citi by polling company YouGov showed on Friday. Households’ expectations for inflation in a year’s time rose to 2.6 percent for August from 2.5 percent in July, matching July’s official reading for consumer price inflation.
Expectations for inflation in five to ten years’ time also rose, reaching their highest since 2013 at 3.2 percent – though this level is no higher than the average for the survey since it started in 2005. “More ‘normal’ inflation expectations do not call for emergency monetary stimulus from the Bank of England. But neither do they call for its urgent withdrawal,” Citi economists Christian Schultz and Ann O’Kelly said. A separate YouGov survey for economic consultancy Cebr published earlier on Friday showed consumer morale improved slightly in August but households became gloomier about their finances.