U.S. Industrial Production Rises 0.3% In June, Slightly More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - With mining output showing a notable increase, the Federal Reserve released a report on Tuesday showing that industrial production rose by slightly more than expected in the month of June.

The Fed said industrial production rose by 0.3 percent in June after coming in unchanged in May. Economists had been expecting production to edge up by 0.2 percent.

The increase in industrial production in June was partly due to a 0.8 percent increase in mining output, which came on the heels of a 0.4 percent increase in the previous month.

Manufacturing output also rose by 0.3 percent in June following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent increase in May.

On the other hand, utilities output edged down by 0.1 percent in June after tumbling by 2.8 percent in the previous month.

The Fed said industrial production in the second quarter as a whole moved up at an annual rate of 0.6 percent.

Paul Dales, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said the monthly increase in industrial production is a sign that the recent stagnation in industrial activity is coming to an end.

"The weak global economy and the cuts in domestic government spending will continue to hamper industry," Dales said. "But at least the sector may not be a drag on growth in the second half of the year."

Additionally, the report said the capacity utilization rate inched up to 77.8 percent in June from a revised 77.7 percent in May.

Capacity utilization in the manufacturing and mining sectors edged up to 76.1 percent and 87.9 percent, respectively, while capacity utilization in the utilities sector dipped to 77.6 percent.