July Industrial Production Up 0.7%, Largest Advance Since Nov. '14

Washington, DC, August 16, 2016—Industrial production rose 0.7% in July after moving up 0.4% in June, reports the Federal Reserve.

The advance in July was the largest for the index since November 2014.

Manufacturing output increased 0.5% in July for its largest gain since July 2015. The index for utilities rose 2.1% as a result of warmer-than-usual weather in July boosting demand for air conditioning.

The output of mining moved up 0.7%; the index has increased modestly, on net, over the past three months after having fallen about 17% between December 2014 and April 2016.

At 104.9% of its 2012 average, total industrial production in July was 0.5% lower than its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.5 percentage point in July to 75.9%, a rate that is 4.1 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2015) average.