mfg J.B.
Fed's Beige Book Says Most Districts Show `Modest' Expansion
By Craig Torres
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg)
Most of the Federal Reserve's 12 district banks reported a moderate pace of expansion and inflation last month, with labor markets ``tightening.''
The districts reported ``moderate'' gains in wages, while one-third of the regional banks described price pressures as ``easing or moderating,'' according to the survey known as the beige book.
The report backs the Federal Open Market Committee's view that inflation pressures are likely to ease gradually over time, with the economy recording some pick-up in growth this year. Fed officials next meet Jan. 30-31 to set interest rates. Economists and investors expect the central bank to leave the benchmark rate unchanged at 5.25 percent for the fifth straight time.
``Despite expanded hiring, districts reported relatively moderate gains in wages,'' the beige book said. Seven Fed banks ``described wage increases as moderating or continuing at rates similar to those in the preceding period.''
Employers added 167,000 workers to their payrolls in December, helping keep the unemployment rate close to a five- year low, at 4.5 percent, the Labor Department said this month. Workers' average hourly earnings rose 0.5 percent last month, the most since April.
Some districts noted ``certain business lines that experienced wage increases and had concerns about increases in the benefit portion of compensation.''
In the third quarter, the U.S. economy expanded at a 2 percent annual pace, the slowest reported last year so far. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month is for a 2.5 percent growth rate this year.
`Modest Pace'
Fed banks in New York and San Francisco ``indicated that economic activity expanded at a modest pace,'' the regional survey said. The Dallas district reported further deceleration, and the Minneapolis Fed reported ``slight'' growth. The Boston district characterized activity as ``mixed,'' and the Cleveland Fed ``saw softening activity,'' the surveys said.
Nearly all districts ``reported a continued softening in housing markets,'' the report said.
So-called core inflation, or prices excluding food and energy, has been running at or above the comfort level stated by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke for more than two years. Prices rose 2.2 percent in the 12 months to November, down from 2.4 percent in October.
Overall, ``prices increased moderately,'' according to the beige book. ``Prices for energy and a number of materials have eased, and competition has kept prices for final goods in check.''
`Predominant Concern'
At their last meeting, Fed officials said inflation was key challenge even as risks to economic growth increased. ``All members agreed that the risk that inflation would fail to moderate as desired remained the predominant concern,'' the FOMC said in minutes of the Dec. 12 session.
``Districts generally reported modest increases in retail sales,'' the report said. Activity in services expanded, and ``manufacturing continued to expand in most districts.''
Since the December meeting, data have indicated that the economy may be stronger than some forecasters calculated.
Last week, the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose more than forecast in December, leading economists at Barclays Capital Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to raise their estimates for fourth-quarter economic growth.
The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 2.2 percent in November from a year earlier, down from 2.4 percent in October.
The Fed survey, which is released about two weeks before each Fed rate meeting, covered a period before Jan. 8. The reports from businesses and other Fed contacts around the country supplement the confidential forecasts and models Fed officials review before their policy meetings. The Minneapolis Fed prepared today's summary of the regional reports.
|