Inflation
Inflation is the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy over a specified time period. Stable and moderate levels of inflation are a natural part of a healthy, expanding economy. Inflation that is too high, too low, or deflationary typically reflects imbalances in the economy that can cause longer-term economic instability and hardship for people, businesses, and communities.
As part of the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability, inflation is a major area of ongoing research at the SF Fed. This page features a collection of content on inflation, including topics such as goods inflation, services inflation, housing inflation, and inflation expectations.
Sub-topics
![](https://www.frbsf.org/wp-content/uploads/Topics_Inflation_hero_F.jpg?quality=100&w=880)
Featured
![](https://www.frbsf.org/wp-content/uploads/homepage_sm_SF-Fed-Blog-Whats-Driving-Inflation_030724.jpg?quality=100&w=400)
What’s Driving Inflation? Our New Data Page Gives a Detailed Look
The San Francisco Fed releases a number of indicators that help disentangle the key drivers of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation each month, including supply and demand factors and cyclical and acyclical components.