Industrial production in the United States exceeded expectations in March

The US Federal Reserve announced the industrial production and capacity utilization data for March. Accordingly, industrial production in the country increased by 0.4% in March compared to the previous month. Market expectations were for industrial production to increase by 0.2% during this period. Industrial production had increased by 0.2% in February.

However, manufacturing production decreased by 0.5% on a monthly basis in March. Expectations were for a 0.1% decrease in manufacturing production. Manufacturing production had recorded a 0.6% increase in February.

The capacity utilization rate in the country also increased by 0.2 percentage points to 79.8% during the same period. Market expectations for capacity utilization were at 79%. The capacity utilization rate, which exceeded market expectations, was recorded at 79.6% in February.