Fed Beige Book Highlights – Currency Thoughts
Fed Beige Book Highlights
April 15, 2026
One way the Federal Open Market Committee prepares for each of the eight scheduled reviews of monetary policy per year is to have each of the twelve Districts conduct a survey of businesses in their jurisdiction to gauge regional trends in economic activity, pricing pressure, labor market conditions since the prior meeting. The finding are then summarized in what’s known as the Beige Book, which then serves as an important guide to conditions faced by business.
Regarding economic activity, today’s released Beige Book identified the New York and Boston Districts as ones experiencing slight or modest contractions since the last review. In the St. Louis and San Francisco districts, activity flat-lined. Modest growth was experienced in the Districts headquartered in Cleveland, Richmond, and Atlanta, and activity was perceived to be slight (i.e., positive but even weaker than modest) in the Districts of Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas and Kansas City.
The Beige Book notes too that “price growth mostly remained moderate overall, with the vast majority of Districts reporting moderate increases and others pointing to modest growth.” Profit margins were squeezed by a faster advance in input costs and selling prices.
The U.S. and Israeli war in Iran was singled out as the current greatest source of uncertainty faced by companies, and such is “complicating decision-making around hiring, pricing, and capital investment, with many firms adopting a wait-and-see posture.”
The coming FOMC meeting is slated for April 28-29. It would normally be the last one to be chaired by Jerome Powell, whose term as chair (but not as a Board Governor) ends on May 15. It remains possible, however, that President Trump’s chairman nominee, Kevin Walsh, may not be confirmed by the senate in time to preside at the June 16-17 meeting. The confirmation process has been delayed by the ongoing efforts of the Trump Administration to bring legal charges against Powell and Governor Cook.
Copyright 2026, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved.
Tags: Beige Book
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