Beige Book
- Consumer spending was mixed
- Tourism activity continued to improve
- Consumer credit quality was generally described as stable or healthy
- Real estate conditions were little changed and the inventory of homes for sale remained low
- Manufacturing activity was mixed, although contacts across multiple Districts noted an improving outlook for the sector
- The near-term outlook for the economy was generally described as stable or having slightly weaker growth.
- Expectations of firms for which the holiday shopping season is an important driver of sales were mixed.
- Labor market tightness continued to ease across the nation
- Prices continued to increase at a modest pace overall
- Districts noted that input cost increases have slowed or stabilized for manufacturers but continue to rise for services sector firms
- firms expect prices to increase the next few quarters, but at a slower rate than the previous few quarters
- Full text
I thought we might see some more downcast commentary but it’s not really here. It doesn’t sound like the strong economy that the 5% Atlanta Fed GDPNow number highlights but it certainly doesn’t sound like a recession is imminent and there are more signs that the manufacturing recession is ending.