US industrial output barely edged up, gaining a less-than-expected 0.1 per cent in August, the Federal Reserve said today.
Output at US factories, mines and utilities nearly stalled last month after an upwardly revised 0.6 per cent gain in July. Capacity utilization was unchanged at 77.3 per cent in August.
Wall Street analysts had expected overall industrial production to advance 0.5 per cent in August.
Manufacturing production, which accounts for more than four-fifths of overall industrial output, grew 0.5 per cent in August, cooling off from its 0.9 per cent rise in July.
Factories ran at 76.8 per cent of full capacity, their highest operating rate since March 2001 and up from 76.6 per cent in July.
The other two components of industrial production, mining and utilities, both contracted in August. Mining output fell 1.1
per cent after a 1.3 per cent increase in July.
Utilities fell for the third consecutive month, with production down 2.4 per cent in August after a 2.0 per cent fall in July.
