US industrial production expanded in July at twice the clip economists had expected, a sign that at least one sector of the economy is still humming along despite weakness in housing and jobs.
Boosted by increases in auto production, industrial output jumped 1 per cent last month, though the prior month's slight gain was revised to show a 0.1 per cent decline, according to Fed data released today.
Capacity utilization, a measure of how fully firms are employing their resources and a key benchmark for monetary policy, rose to 74.8, the highest since September 2008, when the financial crisis was raging.
Output gains were seen across the board, most notably in an 8.8 per cent surge in automotive products, but also in business equipment, which saw a 1.8 per cent increase in July. Manufacturing output rose 1.1 per cent following a 0.5 percent drop in June.
Reuters
