US August industrial output rises 0.2 percent

WASHINGTON: US industrial production rose 0.2 percent in August, slightly better than forecast, as a solid gain in manufacturing offset a drop in utility output, a Federal Reserve report showed on Thursday.

August's industrial output gain followed an unrevised 0.9 percent jump in July. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.1 percent gain in August output.

Utility output fell 3.0 percent in August after rising 2.8 percent amid a July heat wave.

But manufacturing production rose 0.5 percent, with consumer durables rising a healthy 1.3 percent as automotive production rose. This followed an unrevised 0.6 percent rise in July factory output. Mining output rose 1.2 percent after a 1.1 percent rise in July.

Capacity utilization, which gauges firms' performance relative to their full potential, edged up to 77.4 percent in August, from a downwardly revised July reading of 77.3 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2011