The latest Beige Book report from the Fed has little in the way of good news. The twelve Federal Reserve Banks indicated that the pace of economic activity was slow — “weak,” “soft,” and “subdued” were among the words they used.

Consumer spending was slow in most districts, especially on discretionary items. Auto sales were down or steady at already-low levels. Demand for services was down in most regions. High fuel costs battered the transportation sector. Manufacturing activity declined in most districts. Residential real estate markets remained soft. Commercial real estate activity was slow in most districts, and some reported further slackening in demand.

Nor was there much good news on the inflation front. Almost all districts continued to report price pressures from elevated costs of energy, food, and other commodities. Businesses reported that they had increased selling prices in response to the high costs of raw materials. There was one exception — wage pressures were moderate in most districts as hiring slowed, although several districts noted continued strong demand for workers in the energy sector.