April Industrial Production Rose by 0.7%

Washington, DC, May 17, 2016—Industrial production increased 0.7% in April after decreasing in the previous two months, according to the Federal Reserve. Manufacturing output rose 0.3% after declining the same amount in March.

The index for utilities jumped 5.8% in April, as the demand for electricity and natural gas returned to a more normal level after being suppressed by warmer-than-usual weather in March.

Mining production fell 2.3% in April, and it has decreased more than 1 1/2% per month, on average, over the past eight months. At 104.1% of its 2012 average, total industrial production in April was 1.1% below its year-earlier level.

Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.5 percentage point in April to 75.4%, a rate that is 4.6 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2015) average.