Industrial production climbs 0.6% in February

Industrial production climbs 0.6% in February

- Industrial production climbed 0.6% in February, the Federal Reserve reported Monday, the fastest monthly growth rate since August as output recovered after the unusually rough weather to start the year. The rise topped the MarketWatch-compiled economist consensus for 0.2% growth. The gain in February came as manufacturing output grew 0.8% and as mining output grew 0.3%, while utilities output eased 0.2% after a 3.8% surge in January. In addition, January's industrial production was revised to a 0.2% fall from an initially reported 0.3% drop, though there were revisions to November's and December's numbers as well. Capacity utilization rose to 78.8% from 78.5%