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The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that growth in the U.S. economy was "sluggish" between mid-November and January.

In a Jan. 13 letter to the White House, the American Trucking Associations urged President Bush to take steps, including possibly tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to help stem the tide of rising fuel costs.

The prices U.S. producers received for their goods remained unchanged in December, but did decline if volatile food and energy prices are removed from consideration, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Mineta to Undergo Major Back Surgery • High Winds Blow Crude Prices Higher • Eaton to Close Several Plants, Cut Jobs • Economist Group Less Inclined to Declare Recession Over •

Sales at U.S. retailers rose just 1.2% in December, but were flat after factoring out sales of automobiles, the government reported Tuesday, capping a disappointing holiday season, analysts said.

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West Coast ports remained choked with traffic that still had not improved much since the dockworkers' work stoppage three months ago, truckers reported last week. But others said they thought the problems could be improving.

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Reversing a three-week trend, diesel fuel prices slipped 2.3 cents to fall back below $1.50 per gallon. With the decline, the Department of Energy said, the national average price of diesel fuel fell to $1.478 a gallon.

WASHINGTON — Annette Sandberg, acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the trucking safety agency doesn’t have a deadline in mind to make public a new plan to reform federal regulations for commercial drivers’ hours.