Industrial Production Increased 0.6% in August
September 17 2019 - 9:45AM
Dow Jones News
By Harriet Torry and Paul Kiernan
WASHINGTON--U.S. industrial production rose in August, a welcome
sign of resilience in the economy after a spate of weak readings
early this year.
Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility
output, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in August from the prior
month, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a
0.2% increase last month. July industrial production was revised to
a decline of 0.1% from an earlier reading of a 0.2% drop.
From a year earlier, industrial production rose 0.4% in
August.
Output at U.S. factories rose 0.5% last month from July. The
manufacturing industry's output accounts for about 75% of the
nation's total industrial output. Factory output has increased 0.2%
per month over the past four months, after declining 0.5% per month
during the first four months of the year, the Fed said.
Capacity utilization, which reflects how much industries are
producing compared with what they could potentially produce, rose
by 0.4 percentage point to 77.9% in August. Economists had expected
77.6%.
Tuesday's report showed the mining index, which includes oil and
natural gas extraction, increased 1.4% in August, after declining
1.5% in July as Hurricane Barry hit oil rigs in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Output in the volatile mining sector was up 5.1% from a year
earlier. Utility production increased 0.6% from July.
The positive report on U.S. industry comes in the wake of data
pointing to contracting factory activity in the U.K., Germany,
Japan and South Korea.
The factory sector faces headwinds from weak global growth and a
strong dollar that makes American exports more expensive, as well
as rising trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
New York manufacturers reported the pace of activity slowed in
September from the previous month as optimism about business
conditions over the next six months waned.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey's general business
conditions index, compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
was 2.0 in September, down from 4.8 in August and 4.3 in July. A
positive index reading means activity is expanding.
Though manufacturing accounts for a small share of gross
domestic product, the sector is highly sensitive to shifts in
global demand, making it a bellwether for the broader U.S.
economy.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 17, 2019 09:30 ET (13:30 GMT)
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