WASHINGTON — The economic recovery is spreading to most parts of the country. Merchants are seeing better sales and factories are boosting production, but many companies are still wary of ramping up hiring, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

The Fed’s new survey is consistent with chairman Ben Bernanke’s view that a modest recovery is unfolding, although it won’t be strong enough to quickly drive down unemployment, still at 9.7 percent.

All of the Fed’s 12 regions — except for St. Louis — said “economic activity increased somewhat.” That was an improvement from the last Fed survey, released in early March, where nine regions reported modest economic advances. Snowstorms had crimped activity along the East Coast.

The Fed report, known as the Beige Book, will figure prominently when Bernanke and his colleagues meet on April 27-28 to decide the future course of interest rate policy. Economists predict the Fed will continue to hold rates at record lows to nurture the recovery. It has kept rates at super-low levels since December 2008.

“Bottom line: The Fed is seeing only modest improvement in economic conditions, while labor markets remain weak,” said Brian Bethune, economist at IHS Global Insight. “The Fed, therefore, is expected to remain on an extremely accommodative track for monetary policy through most of 2010.”

The new survey suggested that consumers — whose spending accounts for 70 percent of national economic activity — are doing their part to keep the recovery going. Retailers in most parts of the country reported sales increases, and merchants were “cautiously optimistic regarding future sales,” the report said. Sales of home furnishings and electronic goods rose in a number of regions. So did sales of spring clothing. Car sales were up in many places, as well as tourism spending.

Factories saw improvements, too. Orders, shipments and production were up in all parts of the country, except for St. Louis.

Trouble spots for the economy remain, however. The housing market is still fragile and commercial real-estate activity stayed “very weak” in most parts of the country, the Fed report said.

 

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