Jeff Cox

Businesses dealing with tariffs are looking for ways to pass increasing costs onto consumers, according to the Beige Book report.

Retail sales were expected to increase 1.2% in March, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

The central bank leader said that while he expects higher inflation and lower growth, it's unclear where the Fed will need to devote greater focus.

The report should look solid as consumers are still spending money. The details, though, likely will tell a different story.

The central banker embraced a term that got the central bank in trouble during the last bout of inflation.

Consumer worries grew over inflation, unemployment and the stock market as the global trade war heated up in March.

The producer price index, considered a leading indicator for pipeline inflation pressures, declined a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for the month.

The University of Michigan consumer survey's mid-month reading on sentiment fell to 50.8.

The trends are running counter to what you might normally see, the central bank official told CNBC.

The consumer price index fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in March, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.4%, down from 2.8% in February.