THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140347
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Economic activity in Virginia and its neighboring states picked up in late January and February, according to the central banking system's latest economic report Wednesday.
The Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond's report on current economic conditions, called the ``beige book'', highlighted growth in retail, manufacturing and services during the first two months of the year. The Richmond bank oversees activity in the Fed's Fifth District, covering Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas.
Many respondents to the Fed's surveys attributed the uptick to a rebound from January's bad weather, which induced economic sluggishness.
Business surveys by the Federal Reserve's 11 other regional banks showed similar trends nationally. All regions of the country were reporting growth at moderate to solid levels in February. The pickup in activity was coming without any worrisome signs of higher inflation, said the banks reporting.
Analysts said the generally upbeat Fed survey, coming after last Friday's report of the sharp February improvement in employment, strengthened their belief that the Fed will not cut rates again anytime soon.
The weather, particularly the snow storm in January, hampered activity at the ports in Hampton Roads and Baltimore. It damaged some late winter crops and farm buildings. Some services were adversely affected by the weather as well.
Several other industries, however, showed growth.
Hotels, motels and resorts saw greater tourist activity than last year. Ski resorts in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia reported unusually good business as recent snowfalls continued to boost winter bookings above last year's levels.
Demand for temporary workers rose in February as shopper traffic, retail sales revenue and big-ticket sales all increased. New construction, manufacturing, finance activity, services, commercial real estate and residential real estate all saw gains.
Home sales in Hampton Roads were higher in January than a year ago, the Virginia Association of Realtors reported. Pending sales of single family homes in Hampton Roads totaled 1,541 in January compared with 1,279 in January 1995. That's an increase of 262, or 20 percent, in the first month of the year. Pending home sales, sales under contract but have not closed, are the best indicator of local purchases.
Home sales for the state were slightly behind last year's activity. Through January, 3,764 homes were reported under contract, a 2.6 percent decrease from last year's figure of 3,864.
KEYWORDS: ECONOMY HOME SALES by CNB