FX.co ★ US Industrial Output Rises More than Expected

Industrial production in the United States rose 0.2% month over month in February 2026, beating market expectations of a 0.1% increase, following a 0.7% gain in January. Manufacturing output—which accounts for roughly 78% of total industrial production—also advanced 0.2%, after a 0.8% rise in January and above the projected 0.1% increase. Mining output grew 0.8%, after a 0.9% gain in the previous month. By contrast, utilities output declined 0.6%, with the index for electric utilities unchanged and the index for natural gas utilities down 4.7%. Capacity utilization held steady at 76.3%, remaining 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average for the 1972–2025 period.