US Industrial Production In June Rises 0.3% After Not Changing In May; Mining Rose The Most Last Month

U.S. industrial production increased 0.3 percent in June after being unchanged in May. For the second quarter as a whole, industrial production moved up at an annual rate of 0.6 percent, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

Production from mines advanced 0.8 percent, double its rate of increase in May. For the second quarter, mining output rose at an annual rate of 4.9 percent after having fallen 0.7 percent in the first quarter. In June, the capacity utilization rate for mining increased 0.3 percentage point to 87.9 percent, a rate 0.6 percentage point above its long-run average.

Manufacturing production rose 0.3 percent following an increase of 0.2 percent in May. The output at mines advanced 0.8 percent in June, while the output of utilities decreased 0.1 percent.

At 99.1 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production was 2.0 percent above its year-earlier level.

The rate of capacity utilization for all industries edged up 0.1 percentage point to 77.8 percent, a rate that was 0.1 percentage point above its level of a year earlier but 2.4 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2012) average.

Analysts reacted positively to the June numbers.

"The 0.3 percent month-over-month rise in U.S. industrial production in June (consensus 0.3 percent) is a sign that the recent stagnation in industrial activity is coming to an end. It is particularly encouraging that the bulk of the gain was due to a 0.2 percent increase in manufacturing output (mining output rose by 0.8 percent month over month and utilities output fell by 0.1 percent month over month)," Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist with Capital Economics said.