Industrial Production Down 0.6%, Capacity Use Falls to 78.6 % in April

WASHINGTON — Industrial production fell 0.6% in April, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.

The production decrease followed a revised 0.9% gain in March, originally reported as a 0.7% increase.

Capacity utilization fell to 78.6% from a revised 79.3% in March, previously estimated at 79.2%.

Economists polled by Thompson Reuters projected a 0.1% increase in industrial production and a 79.2% capacity utilization rate.

Manufacturing output was down 0.4% in April following a 0.7% increase the previous month.

Utilities' output fell 5.3% in April after rising 0.6% the previous month.