Economic activity in the United States stagnated or even increased very slightly in November and the pace of inflation slowed down a little, estimates the Beige Book of the American Federal Reserve published on Wednesday.
Economic activity has been roughly flat or up slightly since the previous report, the report, conducted from the twelve regions of the Federal Reserve System, said.
This activity barometer, published two weeks before the next monetary meeting of the Fed, covers a period of six weeks until November 23rd.
Five regions reported slight or modest gains in activity, and the others saw either no change or a slight decline, the US central bank said, indicating that interest rates and inflation continued to weigh on the economy. activity.
Many contacts expressed greater uncertainty or heightened pessimism about the outlook, the report said.
Employment has increased slightly in most regions except two, but demand for labor has generally weakened, a feature desired by the Fed because it cools the economy and therefore inflation.
The report notes the layoffs in technology, finance and real estate but finds that they remain gone and companies are expressing reluctance to lay off given the stubborn difficulties in hiring since the pandemic.
Wages have increased moderately and some regions have even experienced an easing of wage pressures.
On the inflation side, consumer prices increased at a moderate or strong pace in most regions, but this pace has slowed.
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Prices have fallen for some basic products, such as wood or steel, but the cost of foodstuffs has risen again or remained high in several regions.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that rates should now rise more slowly, warning however that the fight against inflation is far from over and that monetary policy could remain tight for some time.
On the other hand, he was more optimistic about the possibilities of achieving a soft landing, which would see inflation return to the nails without plunging the United States into recession, judging this scenario very plausible.
Faced with high inflation, the Fed raised interest rates to slow economic activity and ease pressure on prices. At the risk of driving up unemployment, and even causing a recession.