U.S. industrial production was up 1 percent in September versus expectations of 0.4 percent, the biggest gain in nearly two years as factory activity quickened and utilities output logged a big-weather related jump, a welcome sign on the pace of the economy’s recovery.
Output at the nation’s mines, factories and utilities increased 1.0 percent after slipping 0.2 percent in August, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday. It was the biggest rise since November 2012 and handily outstripped the 0.4 percent gain expected on Wall Street.
With activity quickening, the amount of productive capacity in use rose to 79.3 percent, the highest level since June 2008. The Fed keeps an eyes on capacity use for signs inflationary bottlenecks may be developing. Despite the latest jump, the figure still remains 0.8 percentage point below its long-run average.
Manufacturing production, which had dropped 0.5 percent in August, advanced by 0.5 percent in September with widespread gains across subsectors. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a gain of just 0.3 percent.
via CNBC
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.