U.S. industrial production has solid gain in July

Industrial production rose 3% in July for the third straight monthly gain after sharp declines in March and April, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
 
The gain in July was above Wall Street expectations of a 2.7% gain, according to a survey by MarketWatch. Production in June was raised to a 5.7% gain from the earlier estimate of a 5.4% increase.

Despite the strong gains over the past two months, production is below pre-crisis levels, the Fed said. The index is 8.4% below its pre-pandemic February level.

Manufacturing output improved in July, rising 3.4%. Most major industries posted gains. The largest increase was registered by motor vehicles and parts. Excluding autos, factory output rose 1.6%.

Mining production, which includes oil and gas extraction, rose 0.8% in July, the first gain after five straight months of decline. Output of utilities rose 3.3% as hotter weather increased air-conditioning demand.

Capacity utilization rose 2.1 percentage points to 70.6%, which is 6.4 percentage points above its April low.

Economists said that the industrial sector is recovering but faces several hurdles in coming months, including weak global growth and the resurgent virus.