Data from the US Federal Reserve shows that industrial output fell 0.1 percent in January, after a 1.2 percent increase in December. The drop is largely due to a 1.6 percent drop in utility output after a 4.1 percent leap in December.
Mining output dipped 0.7 percent last month, while manufacturing output-which makes up 75 percent of the industrial output total-grew 0.3 percent. Automotive output was also promising, rising 3.2 percent in January after only increasing 0.2 percent in December.
Capacity use at industrial facilities fell 0.1 percent to 76.1 percent in January.