The factory production in the United States climbed up in January as the manufacturers cranked out more clothing, computers, steel and other metals, while offsetting the drop in autos and aerospace.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said that the country’s factory production rose 0.2 percent last month, after recording a flat reading in December 2014.
The data suggests manufacturing is still backing the growth of economy, even though it is weaker than one recorded in 2014.
On the job front, a strong hiring provided Americans with more money for spending. This has encouraged the demand for electronics, autos and other manufactured goods. Simultaneously, weak economic growth in other parts of the world has brought down the factories’ exports in the United States.
The overall industrial production, which comprises of mining and utilities, rose 0.2 percent in January after declining 0.3 percent in December. The utility output increased 2.3 percent as heating demand surged. On the other hand, the mining production dropped one percent due to a big drop in oil and gas drilling.
The prices of oil have dropped by nearly half since last summer. That has forced the drilling firms to hold off on digging the new wells and has restricted extraction of oil and gas, which is included in mining output.
The higher American consumer spending is hardly offsetting the adverse impact of weakness overseas. The spending grew in the last three months of 2014, the fastest ever in nine years.
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