US industrial production up 0.4% in August

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US industrial production rose 0.4% in August on a monthly basis, in line with the market estimate, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

Industrial production, which measures the change in the value of output produced by manufacturers and utilities, showed an increase of 0.8% in July, revised down from 0.9%.

Manufacturing production rose 0.2% last month, less than the market consensus of 0.4%, while the increase in July was revised up to 1.6% from 1.4%.

"Late-month shutdowns related to Hurricane Ida held down the gain in industrial production by an estimated 0.3 percentage point. Although the hurricane forced plant closures for petrochemicals, plastic resins, and petroleum refining, overall manufacturing output rose 0.2%," the Fed said in a statement.

"Mining production fell 0.6%, reflecting hurricane-induced disruptions to oil and gas extraction in the Gulf of Mexico," it added.

Capacity utilization rate came at 76.4% in August, also in line with estimates.

The utilization rate, which is the percentage of production capacity being utilized and also reflects overall demand in the American economy, was revised up to 76.2%, from 76.1%, for July.