US Dollar Edges Higher as Federal Reserve's Beige Book Notes Rising Prices

Written by Terri Belkas, Currency Analyst The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report for the month of July supported the hawkish commentary by Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser on Tuesday, as all of the twelve Districts said that prices were "elevated" or "increasing". However, this does not appear to be sparking a wage-price spiral, as the central bank fears, since the report notes that wage pressures were "generally limited" given soft labor market demand. Indeed, this also appeared to be translating into "sluggish" or "slowing" consumer spending in the services and manufacturing sectors, which saw only a small boost from the tax rebate and was likely constrained by rocketing gasoline costs. Unsurprisingly, residential real estate markets remain the primary soft-spot of the US economy, though commercial real estate... [read full story]