Indian households expect ease in inflation pressures to continue: RBI survey

NEW DELHI: Indian households are anticipating a notable softening in inflation expectations for the next three months and one year ahead, the Reserve Bank of India’s latest Households’ Inflation Expectations Survey showed.

The RBI released the results of November 2025 round of its bi-monthly inflation expectations survey of households on Friday evening. The survey was conducted during November 1-10, 2025, in 19 major cities, with 6,061 responses.

Households’ perception of the current median inflation declined significantly by 80 basis points (bps) to 6.6 per cent in comparison to the previous round.

Alongside, their inflation expectations for the next three months and one year ahead also experienced notable softening by 50 bps and 70 bps to 7.6 per cent and 8.0 per cent respectively, RBI said.

“For both short term and one year ahead periods, the shares of respondents anticipating rise in both general prices and inflation maintained its declining trend,” the central bank survey found.

Households reported easing of price and inflationary pressures in most of the product groups including food products, non-food products, and cost of services for both the time horizons.

The RBI survey found that fewer households now anticipate price increases across key segments such as food, non-food items, housing, household durables, and services.

For instance, the share of respondents expecting food prices to rise in the next three months fell to 74.9 per cent in November, down from 79 per cent in September, while those anticipating price increases in non-food products declined to 67.8 per cent, compared to 73.4 per cent in the preceding round.

Longer-term expectations show a similar pattern.

One-year-ahead expectations of price increases also dropped across categories, with general inflation expectations falling to 83.6 per cent in November, from 86.8 per cent in September.

Expectations for household durables exhibited the steepest decline, with only 68 per cent of respondents anticipating price rises, compared to over 78 per cent earlier in the year. Housing and services categories, while still elevated, also reflected easing sentiments.

The survey also offered demographic insights, revealing a broad-based moderation in inflation expectations across age groups, employment categories, and gender.

The median current inflation perceptions ranged from 6.1 per cent among respondents aged up to 25 years to 7.4 per cent among those aged 35-45 years, but in every category, perceptions declined from previous rounds. Homemakers and retired persons, traditionally among the groups with higher inflation sensitivity, also reported easing perceptions.

Overall, the RBI survey underscored a broad moderation in inflation expectations. (ANI)