A recent report by the Federal Reserve, released on Wednesday, reveals that industrial production in the U.S. saw a more significant increase than anticipated in June.
According to the Fed, industrial production rose by 0.6 percent in June, following a 0.9 percent surge in May. This exceeded economists' expectations, who had predicted a more modest increase of 0.3 percent.
A continued spike in utilities output, which jumped by 2.8 percent in June after a 1.9 percent increase in May, significantly contributed to the higher-than-expected rise in industrial production.
Additionally, the report highlighted that manufacturing and mining outputs grew by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, during the same period.
The Fed also noted an increase in capacity utilization within the industrial sector, reaching 78.8 percent in May, an improvement from the revised figure of 78.3 percent in April.
Economists had anticipated a slight decrease in capacity utilization to 78.6 percent, down from the originally reported 78.7 percent for the previous month.
Specifically, capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector rose to 77.9 percent, while the mining sector saw a slight uptick to 89.3 percent, and the utilities sector experienced a notable jump to 73.8 percent.
