The latest version of the Beige Book has been released by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, showing that economic activity continued to grow slowly, on balance, in late October and early November.

Consumer spending varied among Fed districts. Auto sales have fallen in all districts. Service industry activity was generally sluggish. Manufacturing remained soft in most districts. Business capital spending in all sectors continued to be limited. Commercial real estate markets continued to be slack in all the districts too. Residential real estate remained strong. Agricultural conditions have been adversely affected by heavy rain and cold weather in the southern U.S., but are good elsewhere. There has been little change in energy production but mining has declined. Bank lending remains strong for residential real estate, but other categories of lending have been lackluster.

Labour markets continued to be soft in nearly all Fed districts, although demand for health-care workers remained strong. Wage and salary pressures were subdued, but employee health-care costs continued to rise sharply. Most Reserve banks reported nearly steady prices at both the consumer and producer levels, with the exception of shipping charges, which have risen in the wake of the West Coast port disruptions.