WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With manufacturing and mining output recovering from weather-related declines in January, the Federal Reserve released a report on Friday showing a slight increase in U.S. industrial production in the month of February.
The Fed said industrial production inched up by 0.1 percent in February after falling by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in January.
Economists had expected industrial production to come in unchanged compared to the 0.1 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.
The uptick in production came as manufacturing climbed by 0.8 percent in February after slumping by 1.1 percent in January and mining output surged by 2.2 percent in February after plunging by 2.9 percent in January.
However, the increases in manufacturing and mining output were largely offset by a substantial pullback by utilities output.
The Fed said utilities output plummeted by 7.5 percent in February after spiking by 7.4 percent in January because of warmer-than-typical temperatures.
Meanwhile, the report said capacity utilization for the industrial sector came in at 78.3 percent in February, unchanged from a downwardly revised reading in January.
Economists had expected capacity utilization to come in unchanged compared to the 78.5 percent originally reported for the previous month.
Capacity utilization in the manufacturing and mining sectors rose to 77.0 percent and 93.8 percent, respectively, while capacity utilization in the utilities sector tumbled to 67.8 percent.
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