January’s Federal Reserve Beige Book, released Wednesday carried a more upbeat tone than recent beige books. The report which comes two weeks before the Federal Reserve's next scheduled policy meeting (Jan. 31-Feb. 1) painted an upbeat picture of conditions across the country.
The report showed that most districts continue to experience “modest” economic growth and some even cited a “turnaround” in manufacturing compared to the beginning of the year. Firms expressed optimism about growth in 2017, a Federal Reserve report said Wednesday.
Increases in input goods were more widespread than increases in final goods prices. Costs increases were reported for coal, natural gas, and selected building and manufacturing materials. Retailers still struggled to raise prices, and farm products “stayed flat at very low levels,” the report said.
Most districts said that wage pressures had increased, pushed higher in some instances by increases in the states’ minimum wages. The majority of districts reported that labor markets were “tight” and many thought this trend would continue in 2017 with wage pressures likely to rise.
Analysts expect the Fed to hold short-term interest rates at a range between 0.50% and 0.75% at the upcoming meeting. Federal-funds futures indicated just a 4 percent probability for a rate increase at the next policy meeting, according to data from CME Group.


BOJ Raises Interest Rates to 1% as Inflation Pressures Persist
Oil Prices Slip as Oversupply Concerns and U.S.-Iran Talks Shape Market Outlook
FxWirePro: Daily Commodity Tracker - 21st March, 2022
Goldman Sachs Says China Competition Weighs More on EU Growth Than Trade Deficit
Malaysia Central Bank Moves to Support Ringgit Amid Foreign Fund Outflows
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh Signals Policy Overhaul as Hawkish Rate Outlook Rattles Markets
Asian Stocks Rebound as Tech Shares Rally on Fed Rate Cut Hopes and Easing Iran Tensions
China Services PMI Beats Forecasts as Strong Demand Supports June Growth
Japan Signals Readiness to Act on Yen as Intervention Speculation Grows




