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US industrial output posts decline in September on manufacturing downturn

US industrial output posts decline in September on manufacturing downturn

Mubasher: US industrial production shrank in September for the second time in three months, driven by a manufacturing downturn, official data showed on Thursday.

Industrial output, a gauge of factory, mining and utility output, fell by 0.4% last September, compared with a revised rise of 0.8% in August, according to the Federal Reserve Bank’s figures.

For the third quarter of this year, industrial output rose 1.2% year-on-year, following annual declines of nearly 2% in the preceding two quarters.

Production at US factories, which makes up for 75% of the nation’s total industrial output, fell by 0.5% during September, compared with growth of 0.4% in the preceding month.

This indicated that trade tensions and sluggish global economy are weighing on a key component of the world’s biggest economy.

Stripping out auto output, manufacturing production still declined by 0.2% in September, following a revised gain of 0.7%.

Output of mining sector, comprising oil and gas drilling activities, also shrank by 1.3% during September, reversing a 2.4% growth in the preceding month, whereas production at US utilities rose by 1.4%.

Capacity utilisation, which mirrors the hurdles to operating factories, mines and utilities in the US, declined by 0.4% to 75.3% during the month.

At 1:47 pm GMT, the EUR/USD pair climbed by 0.48% to $1.1125.