Fed Beige Book: USA economy continued to expand at modest to moderate pace

Summary The Federal Reserve Board on July 18, 2012 issued the Beige Book commentary on current economic conditions for the approximately six weeks ending July 9, 2012. In general, across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, "overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July". The prior 4 Beige Books were phrased similarly. Richmond reported mixed economic activity. New York and Chicago reported growth but slower. The other 10 district reports were indicated economic growth. All 12 districts reported moderate growth in the prior report.

USA Financial System About the same: "Overall loan demand grew modestly in most Districts". The prior report: "Lenders in most Districts noted an improvement in loan demand and credit conditions".

USA Jobs Nationwide Slightly more negative: "Employment levels improved at a tepid pace for most Districts.". The prior report: "Hiring was steady or increased slightly".

Economic Conditions and Activity Nationwide by Category
Manufacturing: "continued to expand slowly in most Districts"
NonFinancial Services: "generally stable to slightly stronger"
Consumer Spending: "modest increases in retail spending on a year-over-year basis"
Automobile Sales: "Most Districts reported that vehicle sales remained robust"
Travel and Tourism: "strong across several Districts"
Residential Real Estate: "remained largely positive"
NonResidential Real Estate: "Recent activity in commercial real estate markets has been mixed"
Agriculture: "mixed since the previous report"
Natural Resources: "energy exploration activity had increased"
Wages: "Wage pressures remained modest"
Prices: "Price inflation was modest across most areas of the country"

Economic Conditions and Activity by Federal Reserve District
Boston: continues to expand at a moderate pace
New York: slowed since the last report
Philadelphia: continued to improve
Cleveland: continued to expand since our last report, but at a slower pace
Richmond: mixed reports on economic activity
Atlanta: expanded at a modest pace
Chicago: continued to expand at a moderate pace, although once again the pace of growth slowed from the previous reporting period
St. Louis: continued to expand at a modest pace
Minneapolis: grew moderately
Kansas City: expanded moderately
Dallas: grew at a moderate pace
San Francisco: expanded at a modest pace