Rising inflation is making Indians increasingly hopeless about their future.

Seven in 10 households have experienced a more than 10% increase in their monthly expenses in the past three months, with an average increase of over 15%, according to a survey by community platform LocalCircles.

Retail inflation in India touched an eight-year high of 7.79% in April.

The survey was based on 23,500 responses from over 12,000 households located across 323 districts. It also stated that around 55% of the households expect their expenses to rise by another 10% in the next three months owing to increasing oil prices.

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The findings have come amid a patchy power supply in the country due to a coal crisis and heatwaves in the country.

“Given the geopolitical situation, the constrained supplies of several commodities, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the overall condition of the economy, 55% of Indian households surveyed anticipate their monthly expenses to rise by over 10% in the next three months,” the Local Circles report said.

It suggested that a reduction in prices of petrol and diesel could curb household spending considerably.

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“The central and state governments must evaluate how relief equivalent to at least Rs 10 per litre can be given with a combination of taxes such that the negative impact of rising fuel prices on household budgets can be reduced to a certain extent,” it said.

This article first appeared on Quartz.