US economy continues to expand: Fed survey

The US economic activities continued to expand across most surveyed regions and sectors during the period from July to mid-August, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve.

In the Fed's latest Beige Book which gauges its 12 districts' economy, six districts reported "moderate" growth, five cited "modest increases", while the Cleveland district noted only slight growth since the last report in July, Xinhua news agency agency.

The survey released on Wednesday showed that a strong dollar, slowing overseas demand and falling energy prices continued to affect the US manufacturing sector and exports.

Some districts noted that the strong dollar and slowing economic growth in Asia were dampening demand, and falling energy prices have led to reduction in demand for machinery and metals in some districts.

A majority of districts reported continuous expansion in retail sales and revenues, while some said their retail sales fell short of expectations.

Most districts reported slight or modest growth in employment since July and wages were relatively stable in most districts with slight to moderate increases since last report in July.

The US Commerce Department recently revised up its estimate for the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter to a growth of 3.7 percent, higher than an advance estimate of 2.3 percent.

The revised-up figure beat market expectations that growth should have bounced back only mildly from a meager growth in spring.