Fed Survey Says Economic Signs Are Improving

The nation’s employment climate improved, stores rang up sales and factories boosted production last month.

That was the latest snapshot of economic activity presented Wednesday in the Federal Reserve’s survey of business conditions. “The economy has continued to expand at a moderate pace,” according to the survey, based on information collected on or before Feb. 28.

The survey also found that retail prices were “generally flat or up modestly.” Some companies, affected by higher prices for fuel, steel and other materials, were more inclined to pass along some of these costs to customers.

These indicators will be discussed by Fed policymakers when they next meet, on March 22. The Fed has pushed up short-term interest rates six times since June 2004. Economists expect at least another quarter-point increase in March.

The Fed’s San Francisco district, including California, found that the region’s economy “continued to expand at a solid pace.”

Associated Press and Bloomberg News were used in compiling this report.