US industrial production declines by most since January
The 0.6% decrease in production at factories, mines and utilities followed a downwardly revised 0.3% advance a month earlier
US INDUSTRIAL output declined in July by the most since the start of the year on a pullback in factory production that included a Hurricane Beryl-related decrease in Gulf Coast refinery activity.
The 0.6 per cent decrease in production at factories, mines and utilities followed a downwardly revised 0.3 per cent advance a month earlier, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday (Aug 15). The median estimate of a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.3 per cent decrease.
Manufacturing production fell 0.3 per cent, while mining and energy extraction was unchanged. Output at utilities decreased 3.7 per cent.
Factory output was disrupted after Beryl struck eastern Texas early in the month and caused a massive power outage for millions of homes and businesses.
The Fed said that the hurricane prompted facility closures and reduced the output of natural gas extraction. Beryl was estimated to have held down overall factory output by 0.3 per cent, while a drop in motor vehicle production restrained it by 0.6 per cent.
Excluding auto output, factory production increased 0.3 per cent in July after no change in the prior month.
Manufacturing, which accounts for three-fourths of total industrial production, has struggled as the Fed has kept interest rates higher for longer. Factory surveys have been more downbeat.
The Institute for Supply Management’s latest factory index showed the steepest contraction in eight months as faster declines in orders and production prompted the biggest employment cutback in four years. BLOOMBERG
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