Industrial Output Gains Most Since July
NEW YORK (
) --Industrial production rose more than expected in November, in another sign that economic activity in the U.S. is gathering momentum in the fourth quarter.
Output rose 0.4% in November, after declining 0.2% in October. That was higher than the 0.3% economists were expecting, according to
Briefing.com
.
The increase was led by higher production from utilities and durable goods, while mining output edged lower. Factory output excluding motor vehicles advanced 0.7%. Utility production grew 1.7%, as cold weather boosted demand for heating.
Capacity utilization inched ahead to 75.2%, its highest level since October 2008- but still 5.4 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2009. Typically, utilization levels need to rise above 80 for inflationary pressures to pick up.
The
SPDR Industrials ETF
(XLI) - Get Report
was slightly higher in early market trading, up 0.03%. Large-cap industrials were trading firmer, with
Caterpillar
(CAT) - Get Report
up 1.2%,
3M
(MMM) - Get Report
rising 0.3% and
Deere
(DE) - Get Report
higher by 0.4%.
--Written by Shanthi Bharatwaj in New York
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