01:23 PM EDT, 03/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US consumers' short-term inflation expectations were unchanged in February while the medium- and long-term outlooks rose, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.

Median inflation expectations last month held steady at 3% at the one-year horizon, according to the regional Fed's Survey of Consumer Expectations. The price change outlook remained flat for food at 4.9%, but grew by 0.1 percentage point to 4.3% for gas. The projections declined by 1.8 percentage points to 6.8% for the cost of medical care, its lowest reading since September 2020, and by 0.3 percentage point for rent to 6.1%, the lowest level since December 2020, according to the survey.

Overall, the three-year inflation outlook rose to 2.7% in February from 2.4% the previous month, while the five-year outlook moved up to 2.9% from 2.5%, the New York Fed said.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are likely to show Tuesday that the consumer price index rose 0.4% sequentially and 3.1% annually last month, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. Core inflation -- which excludes the volatile food and energy components -- is seen growing 0.3% on a monthly basis and 3.7% annually.

"The good news would be some clarity following the surprises among some components in the January report," UBS Securities said in a note e-mailed Monday. "That, with February data in hand, could leave the (Federal Open Market Committee) more comfortable the inflation process is unfolding roughly in line with what they thought back in December."

Government data for February producer prices are scheduled to be released Thursday.

In a bid to tame inflation, the central bank's FOMC raised its benchmark lending rate by 525 basis points between March 2022 and July 2023. It has held interest rates steady since then.

Median expected growth in household income was unchanged at 3.1% in February, while the spending growth outlook rose by 0.2 percentage point to 5.2%, the New York Fed survey showed.

Short-term earnings growth projections were unchanged at 2.8%, while the mean probability that the US unemployment rate will be higher one year from now dropped by 1.1 percentage points to 36.1%, the lowest since February 2022, according to the survey.

The mean perceived probability of losing one's job in the next 12 months rose by 2.7 percentage points to 14.5%, while the odds of leaving one's job voluntarily grew by 1.8 percentage points to 19.5%. The perceived probability of finding a new job dropped to 52.5% last month from 54.2% in January, the New York Fed said.