Inflation

Inflationary pressures eased in July.

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet will be reduced substantially, but not to the $1 billion level from before the financial crisis, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said.

Calling the “normalization of the federal funds rate … well under way,” Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard said it is almost time for balance sheet run off.

Consumers’ inflation expectations fell in the short-term, but rose over a longer period, according to the June Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were up slightly in June, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

One more rate hike should remain appropriate this year, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said Tuesday, although he said he thinks it will take a little longer than he expected for inflation to hit the Fed’s 2% target.

Business inflation softened in May as services - including profit margins - were firm, but goods prices counterbalanced with a big decline.

Inflation expectations fell and consumers expect to spend less, according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

The consumer price index rose 0.2% in April as expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. It had declined 0.3% in March.

U.S. inflationary pressures were unchanged in April, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.