The FINANCIAL — The vast majority of adults nationwide remain concerned about inflation and the impact it will have on grocery prices both now and in the future.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 79% are at least somewhat concerned about inflation, including 52% who are Very Concerned. The overall number concerned is down slightly from last month, although the number of Very Concerned Americans is almost unchanged. Since April 2009, the number of Americans Very Concerned about inflation has ranged from a low of 42% to a high of 57%.
Eighteen percent (18%) are not as concerned about inflation, but that includes just four percent (4%) who are Not At All Concerned.
Eighty-eight percent (88%) of adults report paying more for groceries now than they were a year ago. While that’s down slightly from May’s high of 91%, it’s still above results found in all of 2010. Just seven percent (7%) say they are not paying more for groceries compared to last year.
Three-out-of-four Americans (75%) expect to be paying more for groceries in a year's time, down five points from last month’s high. This finding was in the low to mid-60s throughout 2010. Just five percent (5%) believe they will be spending less money on groceries next year, while another 17% don’t expect that amount to change.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 7-8, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of adults are at least somewhat confident that the Federal Reserve Board will be able to keep inflation under control and interest rates down, but that includes only eight percent (8%) who are Very Confident. Sixty percent (60%) are not confident the Fed has this ability, including 22% who are Not At All Confident.
Confidence is down slightly from last month and is also below the level measured throughout last year.
Most adults across all demographic groups are concerned about inflation, including 78% of investors. There is little difference among the groups when it comes to the amount spent on groceries and their expectations.
The same survey finds that Americans continue to have mixed feelings about the stability of the U.S. banking system.
Many Americans believe the country's economic meltdown was primarily due to criminal behavior by some financial executives, and a sizable majority feel the federal government has not been aggressive enough in pursuing criminal behavior by top Wall Street executives.
Just days after the government's announcement that unemployment has risen to 9.1%, short- and long-term confidence in the U.S. economy are at the lowest levels of the Obama presidency.
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