Atlanta fed business inflation expectations up 1.9% in March

• Inflation expectations: Firms' year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 1.9 percent, on average.
• Current economic environment: Sales levels "compared to normal" declined significantly over the month. Profit margins also declined but only slightly. Year-over-year unit cost growth went virtually unchanged at 1.6 percent, on average.
• Quarterly question: Firms' long-term inflation expectations (per year, over the next five to ten years) were 2.6 percent, unchanged from the last reading in December 2019.
• Special question: Firms indicated whether the recent spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) had affected various areas of their business. A breakdown of the results can be found in the special question section below.