The European Central Bank has reported that consumers in the euro area have significantly increased their expectations for inflation in the coming months. According to the latest Consumer Expectations Survey, Europeans believe inflation will be around 5% over the next 12 months, up from 4.6% in February. Despite slowing the pace of rate hikes, the ECB has indicated that underlying price pressures remain strong, signaling further raises are likely. The survey, which is conducted monthly and includes 14,000 consumers from six euro area countries, is used by the ECB for policy analysis.