US economy

US industrial production unexpectedly falls in March


US industrial output unexpectedly fell in March as the manufacturing sector failed to record a gain for a third straight month amid ongoing concerns over the outlook for the global economy.

Industrial production — a gauge of output at factories, mines and utilities — fell 0.1 per cent month-on-month in March, the Federal Reserve said. That confounded expectations for an increase of 0.2 per cent and compares to the upwardly revised gain of 0.1 per cent recorded in February.

Mining was the biggest drag, with output down 0.8 per cent. Utilities output rose 0.2 per cent as cold weather drove up demand for home heating. Manufacturing remains a weak spot, with output flat for the month following drops of 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent in the previous two months.

The reading joins the run of mixed data on the US economy and should keep Federal Reserve policymakers determined to hold interest rates steady this year as they gauge the impact of slowing global growth.

“Manufacturing data in this report tend to be choppy, which perhaps is due to seasonal adjustment (particularly in the automotive sector) or reporting difficulties,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief US economist at MFR. “In any event, evidence concerning the manufacturing sector tends to point to mixed conditions, with decent domestic demand being countered by softer export growth.”



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