U.S. industrial production rose 0.5pct in February after a revised 0.1 pct increase in January,
the Federal Reserve Board said.
    The Fed previously said industrial production rose 0.4 pct
in January.
    The Fed said the February gain was dominated by a sharp
rise in motor vehicle production, which boosted output of both
consumer goods and business equipment. Industrial production
stood at 127.3 pct of the 1977 average in February and was up
1.7 pct from a year ago, the Fed said.
    The Fed also revised the December industrial production
figure to a gain of 0.5 pct from 0.3 pct originally reported.
    Manufacturing output rose 0.5 pct in February after a 0.1
pct increase in January and included gains of 0.8 pct in
durables and 0.1 pct in non-durables, the Fed said.
    Manufacturing was 2.4 pct above the year ago level.
    Production of auto assemblies rose to an annual rate of 8.3
mln units last month from a January rate of 7.5 mln units.
    Output of consumer goods rose 0.6 pct after falling 0.3 pct
in January and output of consumer durables was up 2.1 pct in
February after falling by 2.0 pct in January.
    Business equipment production rose 1.0 pct in February,
reflecting more output of autos and trucks for business use and
a recovery from strikes in farm equipment industries, the Fed
said.
    Mining output rose 0.1 pct after a 1.6 pct increase in
January, but was still six pct lower than a year ago.
    Utilities output rose 0.7 pct in February after a 1.2 pct
rise in January.
    Output of defense and space equipment was up 0.4 pct, the
same as in January, and 6.2 pct higher than a year ago.
    Output of construction supplies rose 0.2 pct in February
after a 1.5 pct January rise.
    Materials output increased by 0.2 pct last month, the
fourth consecutive monthly increase after declining throughout
much of 1986. The recent strength in materials has been
concentrated in textiles, paper and chemicals, the Fed said.
    Output of home goods was up 0.3 pct in February and the Fed
said production of items like appliances and furniture
continued strong last month.
 Reuter
