Industrial production falls more than forecast

Thomson Reuters

Industrial production fell 0.4% in August, and manufacturing reversed a gain in the prior month, according to the Federal Reserve. 

Capacity utilization slipped to 75.5% from 75.9% during the prior month, the Fed's data showed. 

Economists had forecast that industrial production fell 0.2% while factories used 75.7% of their capacity, according to Bloomberg.

"A decline in the August ISM manufacturing production index below the key 50 level for the first time since December 2015 and a 0.6% drop in factory production worker hours" pointed to a drop in manufacturing output, according to Wells Fargo's Sam Bullard in a preview. 

The manufacturing sector has struggled to completely recover from a slowdown induced by weaker foreign demand and the strength of the US dollar. 

The utilities index dropped to -1.4 from 1.7. It's still up year-on-year given demand for air conditioning during the summer.

Mining output increased for a fourth straight month, by 1%, extending the streak it's been on following its prolonged downturn.

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