Growth in the US was "subdued" in the last two months of 2002, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a snapshot of the economy. "Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated subdued growth in economic activity from mid-November through early January, with little change in overall conditions relative to the last survey period," the report said. Most Districts characterised growth as "sluggish", it added, indicating that the economy continues to struggle to pull out of the so-called "soft patch", despite the Fed's half-point rate cut in November. Reports on consumer spending were consistently weak, it said, which corresponds with this week's retail sales data showing that sales rose less than expected in December as companies cut more than 100,000 jobs. The report also said that the manufacturing sector continued to struggle with weak demand and excess capacity, although there were notable gains for defence-related products, while the services sector also suffered under weak demand. Activity in the non-financial services sector was little changed from the previous survey period, it added. //www.fxcentre.com