Meanwhile, NikonUSA has been tightening up their policies surrounding minimum advertised price (MAP). Later this week any dealer that violates that agreement will face severe penalties, including NikonUSA cancelling shipments to that dealer for a period of time. This is not Nikon trying to raise price, but rather trying to enforce price. Still, it comes at a time when supplies are still very tight (see above), so the net effect will be that it looks like some places--for example Amazon--are raising prices. (I'm not picking on Amazon, but I note that they have a number of Nikon products currently advertised at under MAP.)
But what Nikon taketh away they sometimes giveth back: it appears that we're going to get a broader set of products covered by instant rebates later this month and continuing into the fall/Christmas selling season. Products that haven't had instant rebates for awhile, including some pro bodies and lenses, will be getting them back.