The latest issue of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Beige Book indicated subdued growth in economic activity from mid-November through early January, with little change in overall conditions relative to the last survey period.

The Beige Book surveys business conditions around the United States. Most districts characterized growth as “sluggish” or economic activity as “soft” or “subdued”, the Fed reports.

Consumer spending was consistently weak, with disappointing holiday sales. The Fed says that, in nominal terms, holiday sales mostly were at or below last year’s levels. Automobile sales surged at year-end however, largely in response to favorable sales incentives.

Manufacturers expanded production a bit, the Fed says, with notable gains for defense-related and biomedical products. Providers of nonfinancial services saw little change in existing weak demand, and business travel remained slow, although there were some reports of improved performance in the tourism sector.

Home sales and residential construction activity remained at high levels but slowed a bit in some areas, it notes.

Agricultural production was hampered by adverse weather in some areas and performance was mixed, the Fed reports. Extraction activity in the energy sector responded very little to sharp increases in energy prices. Bank lending continued to expand in most districts due to strength in consumer and real estate borrowing.

Labour demand was mostly flat. Despite rising costs for employee benefits and some inputs, increases in employee compensation and final prices were held down by competitive supply conditions, it concludes.