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Sharp increases in US factory and mining output drive industrial production higher in February
US industrial output jumped past forecasts last month driven by a sharp increase in factory and mining output.
Total production rose by 1.1% month-on-month, according to the Federal Reserve, pushing the year-on-year rate of increase to 4.4%.
Together with upwards revisions to readings for several of the previous months, February's increase saw the rate of capacity utilisation rise by seven tenths of a percentage point to 78.1%.
Economists had been anticipating a much smaller increase in total output of 0.3% and a rate of capacity use of 77.7%.
By industry groups, manufacturing production was 1.2% higher month-on-month and that of Mining by 4.3%, while Utilities output was down by 4.7%.
Within manufacturing, every major industry recorded gains, except for electrical equipment, appliances, and components and for petroleum and coal products.
Durables production rose by 1.8% on the month and that of non-durables by 0.7%.
The index for oil and gas extraction was roughly 12% higher than one year ago and at a record high, according to the US central bank.
By major market groups, production of consumer goods slowed to a 0.1% pace month-on-month after a rise of 0.5% in January.
Yet that was more than offset by a 1.0% jump in the production of business equipment, after a dip of 0.1% in the month before.
Output of Construction and Materials also clocked-in with large increases, although the rise in the former was largely a bounce after a large drop in the month before.