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mpc: 11 Growth in the United States had been strong in Q1 but appeared to have moderated since then. This development was most notable for consumption -- the monthly growth rates of real household spending had slowed progressively since November. Contributing to this, the pace of job creation had weakened in recent months, consumer confidence had fallen, and the housing market seemed to be slowing. These developments had been a little weaker than expected. Nevertheless, the manufacturing and non-manufacturing Institute of Supply Management (ISM) survey balances had so far suggested only a modest slowdown in growth. Headline and core measures of consumer price inflation had increased in April. In addition, the University of Michigan survey of the general public's twelve-month ahead inflation expectations had picked up sharply to 4% in May. These developments appeared to have primarily reflected movements in energy prices. However, capacity utilisation had continued to increase and was now comfortably above its long-run average level.