U.S. Industrial Production Rises Slightly More Than Expected In December
January 18 2019 - 03:40AM
RTTF2
With jumps in manufacturing and mining output more than
offsetting a sharp pullback in utilities output, the Federal
Reserve released a report on Friday showing industrial production
in the U.S. increased by slightly more than anticipated in the
month of December.
The Fed said industrial production rose by 0.3 percent in
December after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in
November.
Economists had expected industrial production to edge up by 0.2
percent compared to the 0.6 percent advance originally reported for
the previous month.
The slightly bigger than expected increase in production came as
manufacturing output surged up by 1.1 percent in December after
inching up by 0.1 percent in November, recording its biggest spike
since last February.
The report said mining output also soared by 1.5 percent in
December after jumping by 1.1 percent in the previous month.
On the other hand, utilities output plummeted by 6.3 percent in
December after surging up by 1.3 percent in November, as
warmer-than-usual temperatures lowered the demand for heating.
The Fed also said capacity utilization for the industrial sector
ticked up to 78.7 percent in December from an upwardly revised 78.6
percent in November.
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
jumped to 76.5 percent and 94.8 percent, respectively, while
capacity utilization in the utilities sector slumped to 75.0
percent.
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