In the latest issue of its Beige Book, the US Federal Reserve Board says that economic expansion continued across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts through the last few weeks of 2005.

Six districts – New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Kansas City – characterized their economies as expanding moderately or modestly, it reported. Activity accelerated or increased at a solid pace in the San Francisco, Richmond, Atlanta, and Dallas districts. Boston characterized activity as continuing to expand, while Cleveland reported that conditions remained reasonably strong.

Most districts reported moderate increases in employment. Labour markets tightened in some areas and for some occupations, but on the whole, wage increases were characterized as moderate, it said.

The Fed also reported that input-price pressures have continued for many items, particularly early in the supply chain, but they were less intense at year-end than earlier. Retail prices and producers’ prices for more finished goods, however, were widely reported as rising only moderately or remaining stable.

Retail sales rose in most districts, and those districts that reported on travel and tourism spending said it was generally strong. Increases in manufacturing activity were widely reported.

Most districts indicated some cooling in residential real estate activity, while many noted that commercial real estate activity generally continued to improve.

Consumer borrowing was flat or fell in most districts, while commercial borrowing was more mixed, with many districts reporting moderate increases in activity. Conditions in the energy sector seemed strong, while agricultural activity was mixed, it concluded.