Economy Termed `Uneven' In Nationwide Fed Survey --- District-Bank Data Suggest Consumers and Factories Are Busier, Realty Slow
WASHINGTON -- Economic activity is continuing its "uneven" course across the nation, according to a new survey by the 12 district Federal Reserve Banks.</br></br>Consumer spending seems to have improved in the past several weeks. Notable exceptions were apparel sales in the Philadelphia region and depressed appliance sales in the Minneapolis and Atlanta districts. Auto sales were an Achilles' heel in almost every district except for Atlanta and Dallas, where they were strong.</br></br>While different regions saw different kinds of improvement, most respondents said the manufacturing sector is making moderate headway.</br></br>Lower interest rates have sparked another wave of mortgage refinancing, the Fed report said, but "evidently provided little impetus to residential and commercial real estate activity."</br></br>Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan called the recovery "quite narrow" yesterday in a panel discussion at the Senate Banking Committee. He acknowledged the unevenness of the new report.