Industrial output rose an unexpected 0.4 per cent in March from the previous month, the Federal Reserve said today.
This is the first increase in industrial output since last September. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for industrial production to fall 0.1 per cent in March.
In February, industrial output fell a revised 0.4 per cent, stronger than the initial estimate of a 0.6 per cent fall.
On a year-on-year basis, industrial production in March was up 0.8 per cent. The rise in industrial output was widespread, with gain in all headline categories except construction supplies.
Motor vehicles and parts output rose 7.0 per cent in March, after rising 3.6 per cent in February.
Excluding motor vehicles and parts, industrial production was unchanged in March, compared with a 0.6 per cent fall the previous month.
Production of computers, communications equipment, and semiconductors - a broad measure of the high technology sector - rose 0.9 per cent in the month, compared with a 0.2 per cent rise in February.
Excluding high-tech industries, production rose 0.3 per cent, after a 0.4 per cent fall in February.
AFP