The U.S. economy continues to expand, although some sectors of the economy, including personal consumption, are showing slowdowns. Personal consumption is indicating a slowdown. Capital spending is increasing sharply. Housing investment is slowing down. Employment is declining partly due to some special factors.
Prices are stable in general.
In Western Europe, the German, French and U.K. economies are expanding. The unemployment rates have declined in Germany and France, although they still remain at high levels. The level of unemployment has remained at a low level in the U.K. Prices are generally stable in Germany, although import prices are rising. Turning to East Asia, the pace of economic growth has slightly increased in China and prices are stable. Both exports and imports are rising sharply in China.