Federal Reserve Beige Book: Prices rose further during the reporting period, and input costs accelerated in some regions

The Federal Reserve Beige Book noted that prices rose further during the reporting period. Several regions reported that input costs increased at a faster rate due to higher import costs and higher costs for services such as insurance, health care, and technology solutions. Many regions reported tariff-induced input cost increases, but the extent to which these increased costs were passed on to final prices varied. Some companies facing tariff cost pressures kept their selling prices largely unchanged to maintain market share and to counter resistance from price-sensitive customers. However, there were also reports of companies in the manufacturing and retail sectors passing on higher import costs entirely to customers. Weaker demand in some markets led to lower prices for some materials, such as steel in one district and lumber in one district, according to the report.