Economic Buzz: US industrial production rise 0.4% in December

Industrial production in the U.S. grew by much more than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve on Friday.

The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.4 percent in December, matching an upwardly revised increase in November.

The bigger than expected increase in industrial production partly reflected a surge by utilities output, which shot up by 2.6 percent in December after dipping by 0.3 percent in November.

Manufacturing output also rose by 0.2 percent in December after climbing by 0.3 percent in November, while mining output slid by 0.7 percent in December after jumping by 1.7 percent in November.

The Fed also said capacity utilization in the industrial sector increased to 76.3 percent in December from an upwardly revised 76.1 percent in November.

Capacity utilization in the utilities sector rose to 72.3 percent, while capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector was unchanged at 75.6 percent and capacity utilization in the mining sector dipped to 85.7 percent.

Powered by Commodity Insights