Mubasher: US industrial production finished 2018 with a solid expansion, data by the Federal Reserve Bank showed on Friday.

Industrial production, a gauge of factory, mining and utility output, rose 0.3% last December following a revised gain of 0.4% in November.

For the whole fourth quarter of last year, industrial output rose at a 3.8% annual rate, down from 4.7% in the prior quarter.

Production at US factories, which represents around 75% of the country’s overall industrial output, alone rose 1.1% last month, recording the biggest increase in 10 months.

The upturn was led by the increase of the motor vehicle production, the highest since last June, while other sectors, including petroleum and coal products, non-metallic and mineral products, posted strong gains.

Capacity utilisation, which reflects the constraints to operating factories, mines and utilities in the US, rose to 78.7% during the month, the highest level since nearly four years.

By 2:40 pm GMT, the EUR/USD pair ticked down 0.01% to $ 1.1388.