US: Industrial Production preview - Wells Fargo

Tomorrow in the United States, the April Industrial Production report will be released. According to analysts from Wells Fargo, it will show a rise of 0.4% in line with market consensus and below the 0.5% increased recorded in March. 

Key Quotes: 

“Industrial production rose 0.5 percent in March, marking the second-largest increase in more than a year. However, the gain was almost entirely driven by a surge in utilities output, which reflected the return of more normal temperatures in March. Looking past the headline, manufacturing production declined 0.4 percent on the month, snapping a six-month string of gains.”

“Notably, motor vehicle & parts output declined 3.0 percent as auto production pulled back. The weakness was not solely in autos, as declines were recorded across most durable and nondurable subsectors.  While the ISM manufacturing index edged another leg down April, the index remains at a still solid level that is consistent with our forecast. Looking to April, we expect a modest pickup in industrial production.

“While a breakout in activity seems unlikely in the nearterm, we expect manufacturing output expanded somewhat in April, and we look for a gain of 0.4 percent.”