WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy, jolted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, weakened further in October and November, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. Production declined at American factories and airlines and hotels struggled with a sharp drop-off in travel.

        In its latest survey of economic conditions, the Fed found “evidence of additional slowing in most regions” and said this outweighed the faint signs of recovery reported by a few Fed districts.

        The survey, compiled from information supplied by the Fed's 12 regional banks, will be used by policy-makers during their last meeting of the year, Dec. 11, to consider changes in interest rates.

        Monday, the economy was officially declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research to have been in recession since March. The downturn is the first in a decade.

        Many economists think that the central bank will cut interest rates for an 11th time this year in a continued effort to lessen the severity of the downturn.

        The Fed report did find some evidence of a rebound in activity, particularly in sales of autos, which soared to record levels in October as consumers responded to attractive offers of free financing.

        However, the report said nonauto sales were spotty, with strong sales in some regions offset by weaker activity in other parts of the country.

        Retailers in many parts have begun bracing for a disappointing Christmas sales season, the central bank said.

        “Store managers had already begun discounting prices in some areas to counteract weak customer traffic,” the report said.

        The Fed reported that the rising number of layoffs had taken pressure off wages and that the weak economy was keeping a lid on inflation generally. Prices of cars, gasoline and computers fell during the survey period while prices of insurance and health care rose.

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