LONDON (Reuters) – The British public’s expectations for inflation over the next 12 months jumped in February to their joint-highest level in five years, possibly due to fears about the effects of Brexit on prices, a monthly survey for U.S. bank Citi showed on Friday.
The survey by polling company YouGov showed that average expectations for inflation over the year ahead rose to 2.9 percent from 2.6 percent, matching December’s five-year high.
Expectations for the next five to 10 years rose to 3.2 percent from 3.0 percent, in line with the survey’s long-run average.
“Households might be trying to guess the Brexit outcome and its implications for import prices,” Citi economists Christian Schulz and Ann O’Kelly said in a note to clients.
The results were based on a poll of 2,034 adults conducted on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.
(Reporting by David Milliken)
