WASHINGTON — Industrial production rose 0.4% in December after falling a revised 0.3% in November, while capacity utilization edged up to 78.1% from an unrevised 77.8%, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.
The gain in industrial production was lower than the median 0.5% increase projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, but their estimated capacity utilization rate was right on target at 78.1%.
Meanwhile, the Fed said that for the fourth quarter as a whole, industrial production rose at an annual rate of 3.1%, its 10th consecutive quarterly gain.
In the manufacturing sector, output was up 0.9% for December after falling a revised 0.4% in November.
