The Federal Reserve reported industrial production rose 0.6% in February, rebounding from a 0.5% in January to beat the consensus forecast. The forecast range was a low of -0.4% to a high of 0.7%, with a consensus 0.4%.
Manufacturing output ticked up 0.1% excluding a large gain for motor vehicles and parts and a large drop for civilian aircraft. Factory output was unchanged. The forecast range was a low of -0.5% to a high of 0.5%, with a consensus 0.2%.
The index for mining fell 1.5%, but the index for utilities soared 7.1%, as unseasonably warm temperatures in January returned to typical levels.
At 109.6% of its 2012 average, the level of total industrial production in February was unchanged from a year earlier.
Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.4 percentage point in February to 77.0%, a rate that is 2.8 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2019) average.
The forecast range was a low of 76.5% to a high of 77.5%, with a consensus 77%.
