U.S. industrial production fell for the fifth consecutive month in April, suggesting weak global demand, a stronger American dollar and lower oil prices that continue to limit output.
Industrial production, which measures the output of U.S. manufacturers, utilities and mines, decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said Friday.
Capacity utilization, a measure of slack in the industrial sector, fell four-10ths of a percentage point to 78.2% in April. At its current level, capacity utilization was slightly below its long-run average recorded since 1972.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.1% decline in industrial production and a capacity utilization rate of 78.3%.
Overall industrial output in April was up 1.9% from a year earlier. U.S. industrial production had been mixed through the second half of the year, before dropping off in December. For the first quarter of 2015, industrial production posted the first quarterly decline since the last recession ended.
