WASHINGTON – The pace of economic activity has slowed or held steady in parts of the country, revealing a choppy path back to health.

A survey released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve found the U.S. economy growing this summer, even as risks mount.

Of the 12 regions tracked by the Fed, the survey said that growth held steady in Cleveland and Kansas City but slowed in Atlanta and Chicago. Economic activity elsewhere was described as modest.

High unemployment, cautious consumers and businesses, an ailing housing market and an edgy Wall Street have kept the recovery from gaining strength.

Manufacturing expanded in most regions. However, half of them – New York, Cleveland, Kansas City, Chicago, Atlanta and Richmond, Va. – reported that activity had slowed or leveled off. Steel production declined in both Chicago and Cleveland.

Retailers reported sales gains, although merchants in some places said shoppers focused on buying necessities. Sales of big-ticket goods were slower. In fact, reports across most regions found that auto sales had declined.

The housing market turned more sluggish after homebuyer tax credits expired in April. Commercial real estate businesses continued to struggle across all 12 regions, the survey said.

Jennifer Lee, economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the Fed’s survey didn’t point to a “re-emergence of another recession,” despite the adverse conditions. “Activity is picking up but unfortunately the pace remains sluggish,” she said. “Still no solid evidence that a ‘double dip’ is going to happen.”

The findings will figure into deliberations when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues meet next on Aug. 10. The Fed has signaled that it will hold rates at record lows at that time and probably well into next year to help energize the recovery.

And Bernanke told Congress last week that the Fed is prepared to take new steps to stimulate economic growth if the recovery were to flash signs of sliding back into recession.

At the same time, Bernanke downplayed the odds that the economy would slide back into a double-dip recession.

The survey also found that prices of many goods and services held steady in most regions, more evidence that inflation isn’t a problem because the economy is still weak.