Fed Economist: We Have Seen an Overall Rise in Prices This Year

Mike Bryan, vice president and senior economist at the Atlanta Fed writes:

[Last] Friday's retail price report for March revealed that prices rose 3.5 percent from February and averaged 3.7 percent (annualized) over the first three months of the year. I think it's pretty clear we have seen an "increase in the overall level of prices in the economy" this year.

It is interesting that Bryan uses the retail price report for an indication of overall prices increases, rather than the CPI Index which is released by the BLS and shows a much slower price inflation rate.