US industrial production down in October

The U.S. Industrial production slipped 0.1 percent in October after recording a 0.7 percent increase in September, official data showed here Friday. The Federal Reserve indicated that manufacturing production rose 0.3 percent in October for its third consecutive monthly gain. The index for mining fell 1.6 percent after having risen for six consecutive months, and the output of utilities dropped 1.1 percent after having jumped 4.5 percent in September. The level of the index for total industrial production in October was equal to its 2007 average and was 3.2 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector declined 0.2 percentage point in October to 78.1 percent, a rate 1.1 percentage points above its level of a year earlier and 2.1 percentage points below its long-run average (1972-2012).