According to most District contacts, growth remained steady in the Southeast and the outlook remains positive. Retail sales continued to exceed last year's levels in June and inventories remain balanced. Single-family home sales and construction are also running above last year's figures, and commercial real estate markets remain healthy. The manufacturing sector has slowed somewhat from our last report. Recent fires in Florida dampened travel to the state, while along the District's Gulf Coast, tourism has increased.
Bankers report moderate loan demand.
Tight labor markets remain a problem for many regional employers, but wage increases are not widespread. Most contacts continue to report that prices are stable because of the competitive environment. According to retail contacts, sales during June were up slightly compared with a year ago, while sales results in early July were mixed. As in our last report, most retailers said that recent sales had met their expectations, although a notable minority was disappointed with the latest results. Most merchants continue to report balanced inventories and expect third quarter sales will exceed the prior year's level slightly.