Fed: Business activity expands but so do prices 4/20/2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The pace of business activity continued to expand through early April, but price pressures from rising energy costs have intensified in some areas, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
"Reports from all twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicate that business activity continued to expand from late February through early April," the Fed's said.
"Price pressures have intensified in a number of Districts, and most report that high or rising energy prices are a concern across sectors," the Fed added.
The Fed said retail selling prices were stable, although there were some reports of increased prices and pricing power.
At the factory level, 11 of the 12 Districts reported production or orders rising, with Chicago experiencing solid production levels with the exception of weakness in light vehicle manufacturing.
But manufacturers in all districts faced rising costs for inputs, most notably for energy and petroleum-based products, the Fed said. Businesses were having partial success in passing on higher energy and materials costs to customers.
The Boston Fed prepared the beige book based on data collected on or before April 11. Members of the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will use the information at their scheduled May 3 meeting, where they are widely expected to nudge interest rates up for an eighth consecutive time by a quarter percentage point.
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