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Date : Aug 05, 2026
Households’ Inflation Expectations Survey

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of July 2026 round of its bi-monthly Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH)1 2. The survey was conducted during July 11-20, 2026, in 19 major cities, with 5,905 responses.

Highlights:

  1. The current median inflation perception of households remained unchanged at 7.8 per cent as compared to the previous round [Charts 1a and 1b; Table 3].

  2. Households’ median inflation expectations for the next three months eased by 10 basis points (bps) to 9.2 per cent while year ahead expectation inched up by 10 bps to 9.4 per cent [Charts 1a and 1b; Table 3].

  3. In the short-term, the proportion of respondents anticipating a rise in general prices and inflation has declined while it has increased for the one year ahead horizon [Tables 1(a) and 1(b)].

Chart 1A and Chart 1B

Note: Please see the excel file for time series data3

Table 1(a): Product-wise Expectations of Prices for Three Months ahead
(Percentage of Respondents)
Survey period ended Jul-25 Jan-26 Mar-26 May-26 Jul-26
General Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Prices will increase 79.5 1.22 78.6 0.91 81.6 0.90 83.5 0.78 80.7 0.92
Price increase more than current rate 52.7 1.58 54.6 1.20 57.2 1.21 60.4 1.16 57.1 1.21
Price increase similar to current rate 24.0 1.42 20.6 0.87 20.9 0.85 19.7 0.90 20.8 0.93
Price increase less than current rate 2.8 0.39 3.3 0.37 3.6 0.40 3.4 0.40 2.8 0.34
No changes in prices 18.4 1.18 18.9 0.88 16.8 0.89 14.0 0.71 17.4 0.89
Decline in prices 2.1 0.35 2.5 0.35 1.5 0.24 2.5 0.32 1.9 0.28
Food Product                    
Prices will increase 80.0 1.36 80.0 0.81 83.8 0.75 85.4 0.73 84.2 0.77
Price increase more than current rate 53.1 1.60 55.7 1.11 59.4 1.16 60.7 1.13 60.0 1.16
Price increase similar to current rate 23.8 1.37 18.9 0.81 18.4 0.81 18.6 0.83 18.8 0.88
Price increase less than current rate 3.1 0.41 5.4 0.46 6.0 0.52 6.0 0.52 5.4 0.46
No changes in prices 15.9 1.30 14.5 0.71 12.4 0.68 10.4 0.61 11.9 0.69
Decline in prices 4.1 0.47 5.5 0.46 3.8 0.37 4.1 0.38 3.9 0.36
Non- Food Product                    
Prices will increase 74.3 1.33 72.2 0.93 77.6 0.90 81.1 0.78 79.3 0.87
Price increase more than current rate 50.6 1.45 48.8 1.16 54.0 1.15 56.8 1.16 55.4 1.20
Price increase similar to current rate 20.2 1.23 18.3 0.82 18.1 0.77 18.7 0.83 18.8 0.87
Price increase less than current rate 3.5 0.42 5.1 0.43 5.5 0.45 5.6 0.49 5.0 0.44
No changes in prices 21.8 1.27 22.7 0.87 19.0 0.86 14.6 0.69 16.5 0.80
Decline in prices 3.9 0.46 5.2 0.46 3.4 0.34 4.3 0.40 4.3 0.40
Household Durables                    
Prices will increase 67.4 1.14 61.3 1.05 65.4 1.00 68.2 0.97 67.5 1.02
Price increase more than current rate 46.6 1.28 42.4 1.10 44.7 1.11 46.8 1.14 46.5 1.14
Price increase similar to current rate 17.5 0.98 15.1 0.74 15.9 0.69 16.9 0.79 16.7 0.77
Price increase less than current rate 3.2 0.38 3.9 0.36 4.9 0.44 4.5 0.42 4.2 0.40
No changes in prices 25.9 1.05 28.2 0.99 25.6 0.91 24.3 0.87 26.2 0.96
Decline in prices 6.7 0.57 10.4 0.59 9.0 0.56 7.5 0.51 6.3 0.46
Cost of Housing                    
Prices will increase 77.7 1.10 78.5 0.86 78.4 0.90 78.3 0.87 77.9 0.89
Price increase more than current rate 55.5 1.32 57.8 1.10 57.8 1.14 56.3 1.13 56.7 1.13
Price increase similar to current rate 19.7 1.11 17.5 0.76 17.0 0.73 18.0 0.83 17.5 0.81
Price increase less than current rate 2.5 0.38 3.2 0.34 3.6 0.37 4.0 0.42 3.6 0.36
No changes in prices 19.1 1.04 17.9 0.81 19.1 0.88 18.4 0.80 19.5 0.87
Decline in prices 3.2 0.41 3.5 0.36 2.5 0.30 3.3 0.36 2.6 0.29
Cost of Services                    
Prices will increase 71.7 1.11 68.4 0.96 69.8 1.01 71.1 0.92 68.6 1.03
Price increase more than current rate 50.7 1.42 47.3 1.14 48.7 1.14 49.1 1.16 48.6 1.14
Price increase similar to current rate 17.6 1.11 17.5 0.79 17.2 0.72 17.4 0.80 16.5 0.78
Price increase less than current rate 3.3 0.41 3.6 0.38 3.9 0.37 4.5 0.47 3.4 0.35
No changes in prices 25.6 1.07 28.3 0.96 27.9 0.98 25.5 0.88 28.5 1.00
Decline in prices 2.8 0.38 3.2 0.37 2.3 0.28 3.4 0.38 2.9 0.34
Note:
1. The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for qualitative responses.
2. Constituent items may not add up to the corresponding total, due to rounding off.

Table 1(b): Product-wise Expectations of Prices for One Year ahead
(Percentage of Respondents)
Survey period ended Jul-25 Jan-26 Mar-26 May-26 Jul-26
General Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Prices will increase 88.1 1.15 88.8 0.69 90.0 0.66 86.9 0.76 88.7 0.74
Price increase more than current rate 63.2 1.73 63.6 1.13 67.5 1.19 63.6 1.23 66.1 1.21
Price increase similar to current rate 20.1 1.40 22.9 0.93 19.6 0.88 19.7 0.90 19.9 0.94
Price increase less than current rate 4.9 0.64 2.3 0.30 2.8 0.35 3.6 0.41 2.7 0.34
No changes in prices 9.8 1.11 8.5 0.60 8.3 0.61 10.1 0.65 9.0 0.67
Decline in prices 2.1 0.35 2.6 0.34 1.7 0.27 3.0 0.38 2.2 0.29
Food Product                    
Prices will increase 84.8 1.18 85.5 0.75 87.4 0.68 85.9 0.73 87.0 0.74
Price increase more than current rate 57.9 1.66 58.9 1.17 61.1 1.19 59.0 1.23 59.9 1.23
Price increase similar to current rate 23.7 1.46 22.2 0.90 21.5 0.88 22.2 0.94 22.7 0.96
Price increase less than current rate 3.2 0.41 4.5 0.42 4.8 0.45 4.7 0.48 4.4 0.41
No changes in prices 11.6 1.12 10.1 0.63 9.3 0.60 9.6 0.59 9.6 0.67
Decline in prices 3.6 0.42 4.4 0.43 3.2 0.36 4.4 0.42 3.3 0.34
Non- Food Product                    
Prices will increase 80.7 1.23 80.5 0.83 83.7 0.79 82.7 0.81 83.1 0.80
Price increase more than current rate 55.2 1.66 56.5 1.17 58.6 1.18 56.7 1.24 58.2 1.23
Price increase similar to current rate 22.3 1.41 19.9 0.83 21.2 0.85 21.6 0.94 20.8 0.92
Price increase less than current rate 3.1 0.44 4.2 0.40 3.9 0.40 4.5 0.44 4.1 0.40
No changes in prices 15.7 1.17 15.4 0.75 13.4 0.73 13.1 0.67 13.5 0.72
Decline in prices 3.6 0.44 4.1 0.41 2.9 0.33 4.1 0.44 3.4 0.35
Household Durables                    
Prices will increase 77.7 1.53 72.9 0.91 75.3 0.92 75.0 0.92 75.7 0.90
Price increase more than current rate 56.2 1.63 51.4 1.14 52.6 1.19 51.5 1.22 52.6 1.22
Price increase similar to current rate 18.3 1.13 17.8 0.80 18.6 0.79 19.6 0.88 19.6 0.87
Price increase less than current rate 3.2 0.41 3.7 0.37 4.1 0.42 3.8 0.39 3.5 0.38
No changes in prices 18.7 1.49 19.3 0.84 18.7 0.80 18.7 0.81 18.9 0.82
Decline in prices 3.6 0.42 7.8 0.53 6.0 0.45 6.3 0.48 5.4 0.43
Cost of Housing                    
Prices will increase 87.8 0.78 88.0 0.65 89.4 0.60 87.0 0.73 88.0 0.66
Price increase more than current rate 64.8 1.44 66.9 1.06 67.0 1.08 64.3 1.12 66.0 1.16
Price increase similar to current rate 20.1 1.24 18.4 0.83 18.5 0.80 19.0 0.83 18.9 0.90
Price increase less than current rate 2.8 0.37 2.8 0.31 3.9 0.41 3.7 0.41 3.1 0.34
No changes in prices 9.3 0.70 8.8 0.56 8.9 0.56 10.1 0.60 9.6 0.59
Decline in prices 3.0 0.39 3.2 0.37 1.7 0.25 2.9 0.38 2.4 0.30
Cost of Services                    
Prices will increase 84.8 0.85 81.9 0.80 82.6 0.78 81.3 0.87 80.7 0.90
Price increase more than current rate 61.5 1.45 57.2 1.16 57.2 1.15 56.4 1.21 57.0 1.25
Price increase similar to current rate 20.1 1.24 20.5 0.85 20.8 0.83 20.6 0.92 19.9 0.87
Price increase less than current rate 3.2 0.41 4.1 0.39 4.6 0.43 4.3 0.41 3.8 0.39
No changes in prices 12.5 0.79 15.2 0.75 15.4 0.75 15.3 0.77 16.4 0.83
Decline in prices 2.7 0.38 2.9 0.36 2.1 0.27 3.4 0.42 2.9 0.34
Note:
1. The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for qualitative responses.
2. Constituent items may not add up to the corresponding total, due to rounding off.

Table 2: Inflation Expectations of Various Groups: Jul-26
  Current Perception Three Months ahead Expectation One Year ahead Expectation
Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 8.6 0.09 7.8 0.14 9.7 0.10 9.2 0.24 9.3 0.12 9.4 0.27
Gender-wise                        
Male 8.9 0.12 8.1 0.18 9.8 0.13 9.8 0.27 9.5 0.16 9.8 0.28
Female 8.5 0.12 7.6 0.19 9.6 0.13 8.9 0.21 9.3 0.16 9.1 0.35
Category-wise                        
Financial Sector Employees 9.3 0.80 8.0 0.82 10.0 0.80 9.1 0.74 10.0 0.83 9.9 0.93
Other Employees 8.7 0.17 7.7 0.21 9.7 0.18 9.0 0.35 9.6 0.21 9.4 0.41
Self Employed 9.2 0.20 8.7 0.38 10.4 0.20 10.2 0.13 9.9 0.24 10.2 0.17
Homemaker 8.5 0.14 7.7 0.22 9.7 0.15 9.0 0.29 9.1 0.19 8.9 0.31
Retired Persons 9.2 0.33 8.5 0.56 10.2 0.35 9.9 0.41 9.8 0.42 9.8 0.44
Daily Workers 8.7 0.25 8.1 0.45 9.7 0.25 9.4 0.55 9.4 0.30 9.3 0.60
Other category 8.1 0.21 7.1 0.24 9.3 0.22 8.6 0.31 9.0 0.26 8.9 0.39
Age Group-wise                        
Up to 25 years 7.9 0.17 6.9 0.20 9.0 0.18 8.2 0.19 9.1 0.22 8.9 0.31
25 to 30 years 8.6 0.19 7.7 0.26 9.6 0.20 9.3 0.50 9.5 0.24 9.7 0.37
30 to 35 years 8.8 0.19 8.2 0.23 9.7 0.19 9.3 0.37 9.3 0.25 9.2 0.43
35 to 40 years 8.9 0.20 8.4 0.33 9.9 0.21 10.0 0.28 9.5 0.26 9.7 0.40
40 to 45 years 9.1 0.22 8.5 0.29 10.1 0.23 9.9 0.37 9.3 0.29 9.5 0.50
45 to 50 years 9.0 0.22 8.6 0.41 10.0 0.22 10.0 0.27 9.6 0.28 9.8 0.48
50 to 55 years 9.2 0.29 8.7 0.63 10.0 0.29 9.9 0.46 9.5 0.36 9.7 0.59
55 to 60 years 8.6 0.32 7.4 0.50 9.5 0.32 9.1 0.55 8.9 0.39 8.5 0.44
60 years and above 8.9 0.27 7.9 0.42 9.9 0.27 9.6 0.50 9.2 0.32 9.4 0.50
City-wise                        
Ahmedabad 6.9 0.31 6.0 0.15 7.8 0.33 7.0 0.24 7.4 0.35 6.9 0.30
Bengaluru 6.0 0.17 5.4 0.10 7.8 0.20 7.0 0.25 8.1 0.25 7.6 0.27
Bhopal 8.3 0.51 7.0 0.89 9.5 0.53 8.7 1.09 8.7 0.67 8.3 1.02
Bhubaneswar 9.0 0.85 9.0 1.24 10.8 0.54 10.6 0.49 10.7 0.59 10.5 0.62
Chennai 7.6 0.39 6.6 0.55 8.7 0.43 8.3 0.56 9.4 0.60 9.8 0.57
Delhi 9.5 0.24 9.2 0.53 10.4 0.28 10.2 0.22 9.7 0.34 10.1 0.38
Guwahati 7.4 0.55 6.8 0.83 8.0 0.65 7.6 1.05 8.1 0.58 8.0 0.75
Hyderabad 8.3 0.29 7.4 0.55 9.8 0.30 9.6 0.58 9.8 0.36 9.8 0.55
Jaipur 7.2 0.32 7.0 0.39 7.9 0.31 7.9 0.35 7.7 0.36 8.0 0.34
Jammu 9.5 0.90 8.8 1.30 8.6 0.64 7.9 1.28 8.3 0.68 7.9 1.07
Kolkata 10.8 0.30 10.5 0.16 11.3 0.30 10.9 0.46 9.9 0.34 10.4 0.30
Lucknow 8.6 0.32 8.2 0.46 9.0 0.32 8.5 0.42 8.7 0.37 9.0 0.76
Mumbai 9.7 0.29 9.1 0.45 10.8 0.28 10.5 0.17 10.5 0.36 10.9 0.36
Nagpur 9.0 0.33 8.2 0.38 10.1 0.38 9.5 0.56 10.0 0.64 10.6 0.56
Patna 7.7 0.46 7.0 0.57 8.6 0.66 8.4 1.08 8.2 0.63 8.0 0.91
Thiruvananthapuram 7.6 0.76 6.2 1.14 9.2 0.79 8.6 1.36 10.4 0.80 9.8 1.12
Chandigarh 9.5 0.88 8.7 1.51 9.8 0.83 9.4 1.62 8.9 0.68 8.0 1.57
Ranchi 8.4 0.34 7.6 0.33 8.7 0.38 8.1 0.38 7.4 0.71 7.7 0.70
Raipur 10.3 0.45 10.2 0.34 11.0 0.47 10.8 0.55 11.0 0.64 11.8 0.89
Note: The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for quantitative responses.

Table 3: Household Inflation Expectations – Current Perception, Three Months and One Year Ahead Expectations
  Current Perception Three Months ahead Expectation One Year ahead Expectation
Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Jul-25 8.1 0.12 7.2 0.26 8.9 0.13 8.3 0.26 8.7 0.17 9.0 0.39
Sep-25 8.4 0.08 7.4 0.13 9.0 0.08 8.1 0.11 8.8 0.11 8.7 0.16
Nov-25 7.7 0.08 6.6 0.14 8.4 0.08 7.6 0.10 8.1 0.10 8.0 0.15
Jan-26 7.8 0.08 6.9 0.16 8.9 0.09 7.9 0.12 8.9 0.11 8.6 0.15
Mar-26 8.2 0.09 7.2 0.13 9.3 0.09 8.5 0.13 9.1 0.11 8.8 0.15
May-26 8.5 0.09 7.8 0.13 9.7 0.09 9.3 0.27 9.2 0.11 9.3 0.27
Jul-26 8.6 0.09 7.8 0.14 9.7 0.10 9.2 0.24 9.3 0.12 9.4 0.27
Note: The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for quantitative responses.

Table 4: Households Expecting General Price Movements in Coherence with Movements in Price Expectations of Various Product Groups: Three Months Ahead and One Year Ahead
(Percentage of Respondents)
Survey period ended Food Non-Food Household durables Housing Cost of services
Three Months Ahead
Jul-25 65.9 70.5 48.7 50.9 62.7
Sep-25 59.6 63.8 65.3 64.3 71.8
Nov-25 62.4 62.6 55.1 62.1 65.4
Jan-26 65.9 66.6 60.0 64.8 68.6
Mar-26 65.5 66.5 59.0 64.6 66.4
May-26 66.6 67.4 59.4 63.9 66.6
Jul-26 66.4 67.4 62.3 66.0 68.7
One Year Ahead
Jul-25 81.6 78.1 69.5 61.9 61.8
Sep-25 75.5 67.8 71.4 69.7 73.0
Nov-25 83.4 70.3 61.7 71.0 71.1
Jan-26 71.7 71.0 64.5 73.0 72.8
Mar-26 73.6 73.8 68.0 74.7 74.2
May-26 74.3 72.7 67.4 74.1 73.8
Jul-26 74.1 74.0 68.7 74.5 74.7

Table 5(a): Cross-tabulation of Number of Respondents by Current Inflation Perception and Three Months Ahead Inflation Expectations: Jul-26
Three Months Ahead Inflation Rate (per cent)
Current Inflation Rate (per cent)   <1 1-<2 2-<3 3-<4 4-<5 5-<6 6-<7 7-<8 8-<9 9-<10 10-<11 11-<12 12-<13 13-<14 14-<15 15-<16 >=16 No idea Total
<1 7 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12
1-<2 3 19 23 7 2 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60
2-<3 0 6 107 90 30 17 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256
3-<4 0 3 5 113 71 74 17 3 1 0 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 302
4-<5 0 0 2 2 133 85 68 21 5 1 18 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 337
5-<6 0 2 13 19 14 464 236 204 99 13 165 2 2 0 0 4 0 1 1238
6-<7 0 0 1 3 2 6 174 101 75 16 23 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 407
7-<8 0 0 1 0 5 9 6 185 97 61 70 5 5 0 1 0 2 0 447
8-<9 0 1 1 2 2 4 3 4 175 57 147 12 19 2 1 3 3 0 436
9-<10 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 81 55 20 28 5 3 4 0 0 200
10-<11 0 0 2 2 2 31 5 8 14 3 470 59 184 50 15 198 72 0 1115
11-<12 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 9 2 6 0 4 2 0 28
12-<13 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 38 4 9 26 4 0 87
13-<14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 4 3 0 12
14-<15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 4 0 16
15-<16 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 8 0 1 0 0 82 118 0 212
>=16 1 1 7 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 20 0 2 0 1 11 682 9 740
Total 11 32 165 241 262 703 513 528 473 232 997 108 289 70 43 337 890 11 5905

Table 5(b): Cross-tabulation of Number of Respondents by Current Inflation Perception and One Year Ahead Inflation Expectations: Jul-26
One Year Ahead Inflation Rate (per cent)
Current Inflation Rate (per cent)   <1 1-<2 2-<3 3-<4 4-<5 5-<6 6-<7 7-<8 8-<9 9-<10 10-<11 11-<12 12-<13 13-<14 14-<15 15-<16 >=16 No idea Total
<1 5 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12
1-<2 8 13 16 10 3 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60
2-<3 28 7 49 71 56 32 6 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256
3-<4 35 1 4 61 46 93 32 15 6 1 6 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 302
4-<5 44 1 1 0 82 63 72 40 14 4 10 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 337
5-<6 127 1 3 13 9 227 189 219 159 32 217 7 10 3 1 15 4 2 1238
6-<7 48 0 1 4 3 5 78 85 88 27 50 3 13 0 1 1 0 0 407
7-<8 50 0 1 0 1 8 5 90 69 76 102 8 28 1 3 3 2 0 447
8-<9 55 0 1 1 0 3 1 5 91 43 122 21 62 11 5 9 6 0 436
9-<10 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39 41 34 34 6 8 16 3 0 200
10-<11 102 1 2 1 1 7 4 5 4 4 268 48 145 55 27 281 160 0 1115
11-<12 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 5 1 7 1 4 3 0 28
12-<13 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 21 4 11 29 11 0 87
13-<14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 4 3 0 12
14-<15 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 5 0 16
15-<16 20 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 60 124 1 212
>=16 101 1 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 16 0 2 1 0 10 595 5 740
Total 659 25 84 163 204 451 390 462 433 227 842 128 320 90 65 436 917 9 5905

1 The survey is conducted at bi-monthly intervals by the Reserve Bank; it provides directional information on near-term inflationary pressures as expected by respondents and may reflect their own consumption patterns. Hence, survey results reflect respondents’ views, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank.

2 All estimates of inflation perceptions and expectations are given in terms of median, unless stated otherwise.

3 Results of the previous survey round were released on the Bank’s website on June 05, 2026. Unit-level data for previous rounds of the survey are available on the Bank’s ‘Database on Indian Economy’ (DBIE) portal (weblink: https://data.rbi.org.in/DBIE/#/dbie/home) under the head ‘Unit-level Data’.