AlQa'dah 10, 1434, Sep 16, 2013, SPA -- U.S. industrial production rose in August as a rebound in automobile assembly lifted manufacturing output, the government reported Monday in a hopeful sign for the economy after growth slowed at the beginning of the third quarter. The Federal Reserve (Fed) said production at the country's factories, mines, and utilities increased 0.4 percent in August after being flat in July. The increase was in line with economist expectations. Factory output, the biggest component of industrial production, rose 0.7 percent in August, reversing the previous month's 0.4 percent drop, as automobile assembly rebounded 5.2 percent after falling 4.5 percent in July. Mining, which includes oil production, increased 0.3 percent in August, slowing from July's 2.4 percent advance, while output at utilities fell for a fifth consecutive month. Industrial capacity utilization-a measure of how fully firms are using their resources-rose to 77.8 percent from 77.6 percent in July. The figure was 2.4 percentage points below its long-run average. Fed officials examine utilization measures as a signal of how much "slack" remains in the economy, and how much room growth can expand before its becomes inflationary.
