Industrial Production Surprises, Rises 0.7% in October

blr-editor | November 16, 2011 | Comments (0)

Industrial output rose in October

The Federal Reserve has reported a surprising expansion in industrial production of 0.7% in October after a fall of 0.1% in September.

Last month, industrial production was grew 0.2% – most of this revision coming from lower estimated output for mining.

The industrial growth is the reverse of the slowing economy in Europe as the Eurozone grapples with deep deficit problems in Greece and Italy that threaten to destroy the currency union itself.

The industrial production numbers are the opposite of expectations by many economists who see many strong headwinds buffeting the US, such as high unemployment, political dysfunction and spillover effects from Europe.

Factory output increased 0.5% in October after a 0.3% rise in September. At 94.7% of its 2007 average, total industrial production for October was 3.9 percent above that of 2011.

Capacity utilization for total industry rose to 77.8% or 2.1% above its 2010 level.