The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, compiled by the Boston Fed using data collected through July 7, 2025, reported that U.S. economic activity increased slightly from late May to early July. The survey revealed that five Federal Reserve districts experienced slight or modest gains in activity, five districts reported flat activity, and two districts noted modest declines. The overall economic outlook was described as neutral to slightly pessimistic, with only two districts expecting growth while others anticipated flat or slightly weaker activity. Price gains were moderate to modest across districts, with seven districts reporting moderate growth in prices and five reporting small increases. Employment edged up moderately, wages rose, and tariff-driven cost pressures persisted, prompting some firms to pass rising costs onto consumers, which could raise inflation risks. This report indicated an improvement over the previous Beige Book, which had shown at least slight declines in activity in half of the districts.