In a rear-view look at the economy, reports this week on inflation, housing and manufacturing are likely to show that the United States remained on a modest upward track at the end of 2011, MarketWatch reported.

Most of the important data for January won’t arrive for a few more weeks.

Kicking off a holiday-shortened week is the Empire State index, which measures the health of manufacturers in the New York region. A more closely followed regional report, the Philadelphia Fed index, comes out Friday.

Both indexes are expected to reveal a manufacturing sector still in expansion.

A broader report on U.S. industrial activity, to be released Wednesday, is likely to confirm that manufacturing remains one of the economy’s bright spots. Production probably rose 0.5 percent in December, according to a survey of MarketWatch economists.

The two most important inflation reports, meanwhile, are likely to show that price pressures continue to ease after a big buildup last year.