U.S. Industrial Production Climbs 0.7% In February, Much More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - The Federal Reserve released a report on Tuesday showing industrial production in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of January.

The report said industrial production climbed by 0.7 percent in February after climbed by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in January.

Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.5 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected increase by industrial production partly reflected a substantial rebound by mining output, which surged by 2.8 percent in February after plunging by 3.2 percent in January.

Manufacturing output also climbed by 0.9 percent in February after inching up by 0.1 percent in January, led by a 8.5 percent spike in the production of motor vehicles and parts.

Meanwhile, the report said utilities output tumbled by 2.5 percent in February after soaring by 6.1 percent in the previous month.

The report also said capacity utilization in the industrial sector rose to 78.2 percent in February from a downwardly revised 77.7 percent in January.

Economists had expected capacity utilization to come in unchanged compared to the 77.8 percent originally reported for the previous month.

Capacity utilization in the mining and manufacturing sectors increased to 90.3 percent and 77.0 percent, respectively, while capacity utilization in the utilities sector fell to 73.9 percent.