US industrial production rises more than expected in June

US industrial production grew more than expected in June, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve.

Industrial output rose 0.6% following a 0.3% decline in May, beating analysts’ expectations of 0.3% growth amid strong auto and utility production. On the year, industrial production was down 0.7%.

Manufacturing output was up 0.4% month-on-month mostly due to an increase in motor vehicle assemblies.

Capacity utilisation, which measures industrial slack, increased 0.5 percentage point in June to 75.4%.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said the headline figure was flatted by a 2.4% jump in utility output, thanks to relatively warm weather, which boosted demand for electricity to run air-conditioning.