LONDON (Reuters) – The British public’s expectations for consumer prices over the coming year rose sharply last month but were little changed looking further ahead, a Bank of England survey showed on Friday.
Inflation expectations for the year ahead rose jumped to 3.2% from 2.7% in August and 2.4% in May, according to the survey, which was conducted by market research firm Kantar.
Longer-term inflation expectations, which the BoE watches most closely, rose more moderately to 3.1% from 3.0% in August and 2.7% in May.
The BoE is watching inflation expectations even more closely than usual after a jump in Britain’s consumer price index to a 10-year high of 4.2% in October.
The British central bank is due to announce its next decision on interest rates on Dec. 16. Investors have lowered their bets on first increase in Bank Rate since the pandemic after the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
(Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Andy Bruce)
