Warmer December hits US industrial production

An unusually warm December slowed US energy output, pushing overall industrial production lower, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
Industrial output fell 0.1 percent month-over-month in December, after a strong 1.3 percent gain in November.
The December decline reflected a steep 7.3 percent drop in the output of utilities, "as warmer-than-usual temperatures reduced demand for heating," the central bank said in its monthly report.
Excluding utilities, total industrial production rose 0.7 percent in December.
Mining production rose 2.2 percent, largely reflecting increases in oil and gas extraction. Mining output had fallen 0.3 percent in the prior month.
Manufacturing rose for the fourth consecutive month, by 0.3 percent.
For the fourth quarter, US industrial production climbed at an annual rate of 5.6 percent in widespread gains.
Year-over-year, industrial output was up a solid 4.9 percent in December, led by an 11.1 percent jump in mining.
In the final month of the year, the capacity utilization rate slipped 0.3 percentage point to 79.7 percent, below the long-run average of 80.1 percent.