U.S. Industrial Production Unexpectedly Inches Slightly Higher In August

(RTTNews) - Industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly higher in the month of August, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

The Fed said industrial production crept up by 0.1 percent in August after falling by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in July.

Economists had expected industrial production to slip by 0.1 percent, matching the dip originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected uptick by industrial production partly reflected a notable rebound by mining output, which jumped by 0.9 percent in August after tumbling by 1.5 percent in July.

The report also said manufacturing output rose by 0.2 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July, with the production of motor vehicles and parts surging by 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the Fed said utilities output plunged by 2.0 percent in August after falling by 0.7 percent in the previous month.

Capacity utilization in the industrial sector came in at 77.4 percent in August, unchanged from a revised reading in July, the Fed said.

Economists had expected capacity utilization to edge down to 77.4 from the 77.5 percent originally reported for the previous month.

While capacity utilization in the mining and manufacturing sectors increased to 90.6 percent and 76.8 percent, respectively, capacity utilization in the utilities sector fell to 68.6 percent.