The U.S. economy continued to expand at the end of last year and early this year as the housing market showed new signs of cooling, the Federal Reserve (Fed) reported Wednesday.

In its Beige Book, a survey based on information about business activity nationwide collected before Jan. 9 and supplied by the central bank's 12 regional banks, the Fed said that manufacturing were picking up, employment were improving and retail sales were rising.

"Increases in manufacturing activity were widely reported across the country," the Fed said. Most regions reported signs of "continued, if generally moderate, increases in employment."

And all the regions -- except for Cleveland -- reported that their merchants saw sales rise during the holiday season. In Cleveland, sales were generally flat or less than at the same time a year ago.

The housing market, however, showed fresh signs of cooling, according to the Fed.

"Many districts reported moderation in residential real-estate activity, although from a high level," said the Fed. Boston, New York, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis reported some cooling in real-estate markets.

The Fed also said that some businesses continued to struggle with high costs for raw materials and that some producers attempted to pass along some of their increased costs to customers.

The Beige Book, which is released eight times a year, will be on the table when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues meet on Jan. 31 to decide if short-term interest rates should be boosted once again or not.

At its last meeting held on Dec. 13, the Fed raised its target short-term interest rate by a quarter point to 4.25 percent.

The meeting on Jan. 31 will be the last meeting for Greespan who is going to retire that day after having run the central bank for more than 18 years.

Source: Xinhua