Inflation Expectations Drop Sharply Among Indian Families, RBI Survey Reveals

Indian Households Expect Inflation To Ease, Shows RBI Survey

Indian households are growing more optimistic about price stability, with the latest RBI Household Inflation Expectations Survey indicating a significant softening in both current and future inflation outlooks. The November 2025 round of the bi-monthly survey, conducted across 19 major cities between November 1–10 with 6,061 participants, highlights a broad-based easing in inflation perceptions.

Current Inflation Perceptions Fall Sharply

The survey revealed a notable decline in households’ perception of current median inflation, which fell by 80 basis points to 6.6% compared with the previous round. Alongside this dip, expectations for inflation over the next three months and one year ahead also moderated.

• Three-month outlook: softened by 50 bps to 7.6%

• One-year outlook: eased by 70 bps to 8.0%

The RBI noted that for both short-term and one-year periods, fewer respondents now expect prices and inflation to rise, continuing a steady downward trend.

Price Expectations Ease Across Major Categories

Households reported easing price pressures across almost all product groups, including food, non-food items, housing, services, and household durables.

• The share of respondents expecting food prices to rise in the next three months slipped to 74.9%, down from 79% in September.
• Expectations for non-food price increases dropped to 67.8%, from 73.4% previously.
• One-year-ahead expectations mirrored this cooling, with general inflation expectations falling to 83.6%, compared to 86.8% in September.

Household durables saw the steepest improvement: only 68% of respondents foresee price rises, a sharp decline from over 78% earlier in the year.

Softening Seen Across Age, Employment and Gender Groups

The moderation in inflation sentiment was broad-based across all demographic categories.

• Median current inflation perception ranged from 6.1% among respondents aged up to 25 years to 7.4% among those aged 35–45 years.

• All age groups recorded a decline from previous rounds.

• Homemakers and retired individuals , typically more sensitive to price changes , also reported easing pressure.

Overall, the findings point to a widespread cooling of inflation expectations among Indian households, signalling improved confidence in price stability going forward.

(This News Has Been Syndicated From ANI, Mildly Edited For Clarity)