Fed's Beige Book again reports moderate growth

Fed's Beige Book again reports moderate growth

The U.S. economy is still growing at a "modest to moderate" pace seen so far this year, with only a few scattered reports of weakness stemming from federal government budget cuts, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. The so-called Beige Book released by the Fed, covering the period from early April to late May, seems very close to the tone of the last two Beige Books. The Dallas Fed was the only outlier of the 12 Fed districts, reporting "strong" economic growth. Sequestration was only mentioned in cutbacks in defense spending in the Boston and Richmond districts. Atlanta reported that budget cuts had not hurt the hospitality industry.

Comments from the Beige Book, covering from April 5 to late May:

•  Hiring increased at measured pace in several districts
• Construction and real estate expanded at ‘moderate to strong’ pace
• Most districts noted slight to moderate gains in consumer spending, moderate increase in vehicle sales
• Manufacturing expanded in most districts

The overall assessment is a slight downgrade from an overall ‘moderate’ pace of growth.

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