US Industrial Production Flat in October

Industrial output was flat in October, as unusually warm weather depressed demand for home and office heating, but the US manufacturing and mining sectors showed continued signs of stabilization.

    Industrial production, a measure of output from America's factories, power plants and mines, was unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis in October from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.2% increase.

    Production fell 0.2% in September, revised down from an initially estimated 0.1% rise. Output had dropped 0.1% in August, revised up from an earlier estimate of a 0.5% decline.

    Utilities production dropped sharply in October and September, offsetting modest gains in factory output. Mining production surged last month at the fastest pace in 2 1/2 years. Total production fell 0.9% over the past year.

    Mining production jumped 2.1% in October, the largest gain since March 2014. The Fed said gains for coal mining outweighed declines in oil and gas extraction. Still, mining output remained down 7% from a year earlier.