Lending was down slightly according to bankers who reported to the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book, released Wednesday.
According to the publication – which reports information collected on or before Oct. 6 – the Fed said banking contacts reported slight to modest declines in loan demand in their districts. Meanwhile, consumer credit quality was generally described by those reporting to the Fed as stable or healthy, with delinquency rates still historically low but slightly increasing, the report states.
“The near-term outlook for the economy was generally described as stable or having slightly weaker growth,” the report states. “Expectations of firms for which the holiday shopping season is an important driver of sales were mixed.”
As for prices, respondents to the Fed for the Beige Book said they expect increases over the next few quarters, but at a slower rate than the previous few quarters. Several districts, the Fed said, reported decreases in the number of firms expecting significant price increases moving forward.