US Sees Lukewarm Industrial Production In August: Fed

US industrial production continued to recover from the Covid-19 downturn in August but its pace was slowed by bad weather and a pullback in car manufacturing, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday

Washington (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Sep, 2020 ) :US industrial production continued to recover from the Covid-19 downturn in August but its pace was slowed by bad weather and a pullback in car manufacturing, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

Production rose 0.4 percent last month, well below the 3.5 percent gain seen in July and 7.3 percent below its level in February, before the pandemic, the Fed said.

Hurricane Laura and Tropical Storm Marco brought temporary shutdowns to oil and gas production in the southern United States, causing mining production to fall 2.

5 percent in the month.

Durable and non-durable manufacturing saw slowing growth compared to July, with motor vehicles and parts declining 3.7 percent.

All told, industrial production was 7.7 percent lower than August 2019, while capacity rose 0.3 points to 71.4 percent, slightly below expectations.

Manufacturing has been clawing back ground lost when business shutdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus began in mid-March, which saw industrial production sink by 12.9 percent in April before returning to positive territory in the months since.