Beige Book Shows Economy Slowly Picking Up After Harsh Winter

(RTTNews) - The U.S. economy has been growing at decent pace since the arrival of warmer weather, with all twelve of the Federal Reserve districts reporting an increase in activity in the past few months, according the Fed's Beige Book.

The pace of growth was characterized as "moderate" in the Boston, New York, Richmond, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts, and modest in the remaining regions.

Growth picked up in Cleveland and St. Louis after the two regions reported slowing grown in April. The Kansas City region grew but at a slower pace than reported in April.

Consumer spending expanded across almost all districts as warmer weather generally gave a boost to business, but lingering wintry weather in the Northeast continued to weigh on sales in parts of the Boston and New York Districts.

Home sales were "mixed across the country," while labor market conditions were better, as "steady to stronger" hiring was reported across most of the country.

Manufacturing activity expanded throughout the nation, and at an increasingly strong pace in a number of Districts--notably along the East Coast, as well as in the St. Louis and Kansas City Districts.

The Beige Book is a gathering of "anecdotal information on current economic conditions" by each Federal Reserve Bank in its district.