US industrial production increased by 0.2 percent in January but fell short of offsetting the 0.3 percent decline it went through in December, the Federal Reserve indicated on Wednesday.
The statistic measures the output of US manufacturers, utilities and mines. The index for mining decreased 1.0 percent, with the decline more than accounted for by a substantial drop in the index for oil and gas well drilling and related support activities. The output of utilities increased 2.3 percent. Since January started out below the predicted forecasts, it indicates the year is off to a slow start. The output from January last year was up 4.8 percent.