Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Kansas City Fed Denver / Oklahoma City / Omaha

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Inflation Focus

Experts at the Kansas City Fed have developed a collection of research and resources exploring inflation and its impact on consumers, industries and economies.

In economics, inflation occurs when prices increase rapidly, resulting in a decline of purchasing power.

Keeping prices stable is a primary mission of the Federal Reserve. One way the Kansas City Fed monitors inflation trends is through the work of experts and economists. Below, you’ll find an archive of the Bank’s latest research and resources related to inflation.

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40 result(s) found


Article Title	Author(s)	Date	Type
Improvements in Supply Chains Earlier This Year May Lead to Further Declines in Core Goods Inflation in Coming Months No Description Provided. Covid-19 Research, Charting the Economy, Macroeconomics, Inflation	Nida Çakır Melek Emily Pollard Expandable Row	July 28, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
To Reach the Fed’s Inflation Target, Interest Rates May Have to Remain Restrictive for Some Time The Federal Reserve has raised the federal funds rate by 500 basis points since March 2022. But how tight is the current policy stance? We account for the federal funds rate, inflation expectations, and the natural rate of interest and find that monetary policy has only been restrictive since 2023:Q1. We find that to bring inflation down to 2 percent, the Federal Reserve may have to keep the federal funds rate in restrictive territory for some time. Monetary Policy, Economic Bulletin, Inflation	Johannes Matschke Sai A. Sattiraju Expandable Row	June 29, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Higher Interest Rates Reduce Headline Inflation ahead of Core Inflation No Description Provided. Monetary Policy, Charting the Economy, Inflation	Johannes Matschke Expandable Row	June 29, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
High Prices Continue to Drive Consumer Pessimism about Goods Purchases while Concerns about Interest Rates Grow No Description Provided. Charting the Economy, Macroeconomics, Inflation	Nida Çakır Melek Emily Pollard Expandable Row	June 23, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
Prices Charged by Publicly Traded Firms Grew Less Than Their Costs in 2022, Even Though Inflation Remained High No Description Provided. Charting the Economy, Macroeconomics, Inflation	Andrew Glover José Mustre-del-Río Alice von Ende-Becker Expandable Row	June 2, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
Financial Stress May Do Relatively Little to Reduce Inflation Financial stress has risen in the wake of recent bank failures. At the same time, the Federal Reserve has been tightening the stance of monetary policy to reduce elevated inflation. While both banking stress and tighter monetary policy can slow economic activity, historical evidence suggests that financial stress may be less effective in reducing inflation. Banking and Finance, Economic Bulletin, Inflation	Brent Bundick Johannes Matschke A. Lee Smith Expandable Row	May 24, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Supermarket sticker shock continues around the region Though food prices have ebbed and flowed over the past 20 years, they have continued to climb in the past couple years, remaining high since the pandemic. Tight labor markets and wage increases have put pressure on the costs of labor, production and distribution. Inflation Research, Food Prices, Inflation	Expandable Row	May 18, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
Corporate Profits Contributed a Lot to Inflation in 2021 but Little in 2022—A Pattern Seen in Past Economic Recoveries Corporate profits rose quickly in 2021 along with inflation, raising concerns about corporations driving up prices to increase profits. Although corporate profits indeed contributed to inflation in 2021, their contribution fell in 2022. This pattern is not unusual: in previous economic recoveries, corporate profits were the main contributor to inflation in the first year and displaced by costs in the second year. Macroeconomics, Economic Bulletin, Inflation	Andrew Glover José Mustre-del-Río Jalen Nichols Expandable Row	May 12, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Will High Underlying Inflation Persist? Underlying inflation—the rate of inflation that prevails after temporary imbalances in the economy are resolved—can help policymakers gauge whether current high rates of inflation are likely to persist. Using survey-based inflation expectations, we show that if current inflation forecasts are realized, underlying inflation should decline toward 2 percent in 2024. However, if inflation continues to surprise to the upside, underlying inflation may remain elevated for some time. Monetary Policy, Economic Bulletin, Inflation	Amaze Lusompa Sai A. Sattiraju Expandable Row	May 10, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Tight Labor Markets Have Been a Key Contributor to High Food Inflation Food inflation remains higher than measures of overall inflation, and labor markets have been tight. We find that processed food products have driven recent increases in grocery prices, and we argue that labor market tightness affects the prices of these labor-intensive products in particular through increases in production and distribution costs. Food inflation at grocery stores could remain elevated if price pressures on the supply side persist and demand for food at home remains strong. Labor and Demographics, Economic Bulletin, Agriculture, Inflation	Francisco Scott Cortney Cowley Ty Kreitman Expandable Row	April 19, 2023 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row