FRANKFURT, Oct 11 Reuters Euro zone households see inflation staying slightly above the European Central Bank39;s 2 target for another three years, an ECB survey showed, as ratesetters struggle to convince the public that their plans for taming price pressures are on track.

While consumer expectations for inflation are by nature imprecise, they can influence wage demands, spending and saving.

They are also an important input in gauging whether the public has faith in the ECB achieving its inflation goal, amid a global debate about whether such targets should be raised

The ECB39;s Consumer Expectation Survey, carried out in August and released on Wednesday, showed the median respondent thought inflation would be 2.5 in three years39; time, up from 2.4 in the previous survey around a month earlier.

Consumers39; views about inflation in the coming 12 months showed a slight increase to 3.5, from 3.4 in July.

The ECB has said that longterm inflation expectations from economists, investors and consumers are at around 2, but cautioned that some projections have risen and should be monitored.

The central bank for the 20 countries that use the euro raised the rate it pays on bank deposits to a recordhigh of 4.0 last month as part of its bid to bring down inflation, which briefly hit double digits a year ago amid high energy costs and postpandemic boom in demand, while supply chains were still disrupted.

The ECB now expects prices to rise by 5.6 this year, 3.2 in 2024 and…