U.S. Industrial Production Unexpectedly Unchanged In April

(RTTNews) - With a surge in utilities output offset by decreases in mining and manufacturing output, the Federal Reserve released a report on Thursday showing U.S. industrial production came in flat in the month of April.

The Fed said industrial production came in unchanged in April after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in March.

Economists had expected industrial production to edge up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report showed a continued surge in utilities output, which shot up by 2.8 percent in April after jumping by 1.6 percent in March.

Meanwhile, mining output slid by 0.6 percent in April after slumping by 1.1 percent in March, and manufacturing output fell by 0.3 percent in April after rising by 0.2 percent in March.

The Fed noted manufacturing output edged down just 0.1 percent when excluding motor vehicles and parts production.

The report also said capacity utilization in the industrial sector slipped to 78.4 percent in April from an upwardly revised 78.5 percent in March.

Economists had expected capacity utilization to come in unchanged compared to the 78.4 percent originally reported for the previous month.

Capacity utilization in the utilities sector rose to 71.0 percent, while capacity utilization in the manufacturing and mining sectors fell to 76.9 percent and 92.1 percent, respectively.