Shoppers carry bags of purchased merchandise at the King of Prussia Mall on December 11, 2022 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.Mark Makela | Getty ImagesConsumers grew more optimistic about inflation in November amid expectations that both food and energy price increases would be less severe in the coming year, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Monday.The central bank’s Survey of Consumer Expectations indicated that respondents see one-year inflation running at a 5.2% pace, down 0.7 percentage point from the October reading.That’s the lowest level for that reading since August 2021 — the early days of the inflation surge that has gripped the economy and pushed the Fed into a series of aggressive interest rate hikes that is likely to continue this week. The most recent annual inflation rate as gauged by the consumer price index was 7.7% in October.In addition to the brightened short-term ou …
