Industrial production edged higher 0.1% in February after declining 0.4% in January, a rebound that missed the consensus forecast.
The consensus forecast was 0.4%, with forecasts ranging from a low of 0.0% to a high of 1.1%. Interestingly, the gain was fueled by utilities and manufacturing did not make the expected rebound forecasts indicated.
The consensus forecast for manufacturing was also 0.4%, with forecasts ranging from a low of 0.1% to a high of 0.5%.
Manufacturing production fell 0.4% in February for its second consecutive monthly decline, while the utilities index jumped 3.7%. The index for mining edged higher 0.3%.
Nevertheless, at 109.7% of its 2012 average, total industrial production was still 3.5% higher in February than it was a year earlier.
Capacity utilization for the industrial sector edged down 0.1% in February to 78.2%, a rate that is 1.6 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2018) average.
The consensus forecast for capacity utilization was 78.5, with forecasts ranging from a low of 78.0 to a high of 79.
