The American consumer isn't expecting a ton of inflation in the next year
The Fed is scheduled to meet later this week, and expected inflation will likely be on the Federal Open Market Committee members' minds. While prices and wages have been pretty stable over the last few years, if consumers and investors think the inflation rate will rise in the near future, the Fed might consider raising interest rates in response.
One of the questions on the New York Fed's Survey of Consumer Expectations asks respondents what they think inflation will look like in the near future.
The median consumer's expected one-year ahead inflation rate has been on a mostly downward trend since the New York Fed began the survey in June 2013. In February, the median consumer expected an inflation rate of 2.71% over the next year, up from January's expected rate of 2.42% but still lower than in recent years:
