After reporting a pullback in U.S. industrial production in the previous month, the Federal Reserve released a report on Friday showing that production rebounded by more than anticipated in the month of June.
The report said industrial production climbed by 0.6 percent in June after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in May.
Economists had expected production to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.4 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
The stronger than expected growth was partly due to a rebound in manufacturing output, which increased by 0.4 percent in June following a 0.3 percent drop in May.
The Fed said the rebound was largely due to an increase in motor vehicle assemblies, as the output of manufactured goods other than motor vehicles and parts was unchanged.
Utilities output also showed a substantial rebound, surging up by 2.4 percent in June after slumping by 0.9 percent in May. The jump came as warmer than typical weather boosted demand for air conditioning.
The report also said mining output edged up by 0.2 percent in June after rising by 0.3 percent in May, with output rising for the second consecutive month following eight straight months of decline.
Additionally, the Fed said capacity utilization for the industrial sector rose to 75.4 percent in June from 74.9 percent in May. Economists had expected utilization to inch up to 75.0 percent.
Capacity utilization in the utilities sector jumped to 79.3 percent, while utilization in the manufacturing and mining sectors edged up to 75.1 percent and 73.6 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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