US DATA: Aug Atlanta Fed business inflation expectations survey
+1.9% vs +1.7% in July. Survey was conducted Aug 13-17 with 169 firms
responding. Inflation uncertainty was unchanged at 2.8%. Firms reported
unit costs +1.6% YOY, 0.1 pt higher than July, and said sales and profit
margins are below normal. Special Q on pricing power (pass along to
customers) found “firms facing a 2 percent cost increase said they would
pass about 1.3 percentage points on to their customers. For those facing
a 6 percent cost hike, the pass-through, on average, was a relatively
comparable 3.8 percentage points.”