Industrial Production Rose 1.1% in February

Washington, DC, March 16, 2018-Industrial production rose 1.1% in February following a decline of 0.3% in January, according to the Federal Reserve.

Manufacturing production increased 1.2% in February, its largest gain since October.

Mining output jumped 4.3%, mostly reflecting strong gains in oil and gas extraction.

The index for utilities fell 4.7%, as warmer-than-normal temperatures last month reduced the demand for heating.

At 108.2% of its 2012 average, total industrial production in February was 4.4% higher than it was a year earlier.

Capacity utilization for the industrial sector climbed 0.7 percentage point in February to 78.1%, its highest reading since January 2015 but still 1.7 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2017) average.