US: Industrial Production expands 0.4% in August

Industrial Production in the US expanded 0.4%, surpassing expectations of a 0.1% gain.
July numbers were revised lower from 1% to 0.7%.
US Dollar retreats modestly after the data.

Matías Salord FXStreet

Industrial Production in the US expanded by 0.4% in August, surpassing the 0.1% of market consensus. July numbers were revised lower from a 1% increase to 0.7%.

Key takeaways from the report:

Industrial production increased 0.4 percent in August, and manufacturing output inched up 0.1 percent. The August reading for manufacturing was held back by a drop of 5 percent in the output of motor vehicles and parts; factory output elsewhere rose 0.6 percent.

At 103.5 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production in August was 0.2 percent above its year-earlier level.

Capacity utilization moved up to 79.7 percent in August, in line with its long-run (1972–2022) average.

Manufacturing output rose 0.1 percent in August for its second consecutive monthly gain but was 0.6 percent below its year-earlier level.

Capacity utilization for manufacturing remained at 77.9 percent in August, a rate that is 0.3 percentage point below its long-run (1972–2022) average.

Market reaction

The US Dollar edged lower after the report, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) dropping below 105.30. Meanwhile, EUR/USD rebounded back above 1.0660. Later in the day, the University of Michigan will release its consumer confidence survey.

Author

Matías Salord

FXStreet

Matías started in financial markets in 2008, after graduating in Economics. He was trained in chart analysis and then became an educator. He also studied Journalism. He started writing analyses for specialized websites before joining FXStreet.

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