U.S. industrial production surged in August as motor vehicle manufacturing bounced back after plummeting in July, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday, shortly before kicking off a two-day meeting on interest rates.
Total industrial output exceeded expectations to rise by 0.8% last month from a revised 0.9% decline in July, the U.S. central bank said in a statement, pinning much of the rise on "a recovery in the index of motor vehicles and parts."
The index "jumped nearly 10 percent in August after dropping roughly 9 percent in July," it added. The July data was affected by the larger-than-expected impact of Hurricane Beryl.
The sharp monthly rise in industrial production in August was well above market expectations of a 0.1% rise, according to Briefing.com.
The news is likely to soothe concerns about the sector shortly before the Fed kicks off its two-day interest rate meeting later Tuesday, which is widely expected to end with a rate cut.
Analysts and traders are split about how sharply the U.S. central bank will cut rates, with opinion divided about whether it will announce a more conventional quarter percentage-point cut on Wednesday, or move ahead with a more aggressive half point reduction.
The manufacturing index rose 0.9% last month due largely to the rebound in motor vehicles, the Fed said.
Excluding the volatile motor vehicles and parts sector, the industrial production index rose by 0.3% last month, it noted.
"The index for mining climbed 0.8 percent, while the index for utilities was flat," it added.
"The significant beat to consensus for both total production and manufacturing output was essentially matched by big downward revisions to earlier months," Pantheon Macroeconomics Senior U.S. Economist Oliver Allen wrote in a note to clients.
This leaves "the level of industrial and manufacturing activity roughly as expected," he added.
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