US industrial output grows at fastest pace since April

US industrial output expanded last month at the fastest pace since April and manufacturing notched another solid advance, hinting at underlying resilience in an economy that has struggled to establish momentum.

US industrial output expanded last month at the fastest pace since April and manufacturing notched another solid advance, hinting at underlying resilience in an economy that has struggled to establish momentum.

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Industrial production increased by 0.6% in July, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, beating a 0.5% gain forecast by a Reuters poll of economists and compared with a downwardly revised increase of 0.1% in June.

Factory production was up 0.5% in the month and utilities output rose a solid 1.3%, snapping back from a sharp 3.3% decline in June. Mining production rose 1.2%.

Capacity utilization, a measure of how fully firms are using their resources, was 79.3%, just beating forecasts and advancing from 78.9% in June.