ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 24, 1993                   TAG: 9306240089
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VA. SURVEY OPTIMISTIC

Virginia manufacturers struck an optimistic chord in the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond survey issued Wednesday, predicting further increases in the months ahead.

But some indicators - new orders, inventories and exports - remained flat, suggesting growth may continue to come slowly.

The Virginia survey in part mirrored the outlook reported for the Fed's Fifth District - the Virginias, Carolinas and Maryland - which said the economy continued to grow at a "modest, uneven pace."

Retail sales edged up, as did wages, wholesale and retail prices; shopper traffic and employment levels declined.

Residential and commercial real estate increased, as did homebuilding. 


 by CNB