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WASHINGTON: US economic activity weakened in September across the country with few bright spots and businesses "more pessimistic" about the outlook, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report on Wednesday.
The report, to be used by its policymakers for their October 28-29 meeting on interest rates, offered no surprise in its survey of the past few weeks during a period of heightened market turmoil and tight credit.
The report said activity "weakened in September across all 12 Federal Reserve districts."
It added that several districts "also noted that their contacts had become more pessimistic about the economic outlook."
Consumer spending fell in most regions, with declines reported in retailing, auto sales and tourism, and manufacturing remained weak along with real estate, the report said.
The few bright spots were that "agriculture and natural resources were mostly positive," despite hurricanes that affected some areas of the country.
Another positive was that "inflationary pressures moderated a bit" as conditions weakened. - AFP/de
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