Year-ahead business inflation expectations rose to 1.9 percent in August

Inflation expectations: Firms' inflation expectations increased to 1.9 percent over the year ahead.

Current economic environment: Sales levels were virtually unchanged, and profit margins declined somewhat over the month.

Quarterly question: Overall, firms expect margin adjustments to exert more upward pressure on prices over the next 12 months. The year-ahead influence of labor and non-labor costs on prices remained roughly unchanged, as did the influence of sales levels and productivity.

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