US industrial production rises 1% in July

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US industrial production rose 1% in July, according to Federal Reserve data released Wednesday.

The figure was much higher than estimates of a 0.3% increase, following a 0.8% decline in June.

Industrial production contracted 0.2% in July, compared to the same month last year, according to the Fed figures.

Manufacturing output, on the other hand, increased 0.5% in July from the previous month.

The figure came in better than estimates of a 0.1% monthly contraction but posted a massive increase from a decline of 0.5% in June.

Capacity utilization, which indicates overall growth and demand in the economy, moved up 0.7 percentage points to 79.3% in July.

The figure was slightly higher than estimates of 79.1% after standing at 78.6% in June.