RBI launches inflation expectations survey across 18 cities

Amid rise in both CPI and WPI-based inflation, the Reserve Bank today launched its June 2016 round of ‘Inflation Expectations Survey of Households’ across 18 cities, including Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.

“The survey seeks qualitative responses from households on price changes (general prices as well as prices of specific product groups) in the next three months as well as in the next one year and quantitative responses on current, three-month ahead and one-year ahead inflation rates,” the RBI said.

The RBI, which factors in inflation while arriving at monetary decision, said the results of the survey provide useful policy information. “Inflation expectations are subjective assessments of households covered in the survey and are based on households’ individual consumption baskets,” it said.

The RBI has been regularly conducting Inflation Expectations Survey of Households. Mumbai-based Hansa Research Group has been engaged to conduct this round of the survey on behalf of the RBI.

For this purpose, the households will be approached by the agency and the selected households would be requested to provide their response. A double-digit spike in vegetable prices pushed the wholesale price-based inflation to 0.79 per cent in May.

May retail inflation touched a 21-month high of 5.76 per cent in May mainly due to rising prices of food items. The RBI also launched the June 2016 round of ‘Consumer Confidence Survey’ which aims at capturing subjective assessments of around 5,400 respondents across six metropolitan cities.