US industrial production unexpectedly slips in January

US industrial production unexpectedly fell in January, defying predictions of an increase due to a slump in manufacturing and mining activities, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

Production declined by 0.1 percent in January, down slightly from revised figures for November which indicated no change in growth, the US central bank announced in a statement.

This was sharply below market expectations of a 0.4 percent rise, according to Briefing.com.


While mining and manufacturing fell, the index for utilities surged by 6.0 percent.

This large monthly change was due to a jump in demand for heating during an "unusually cold" January, which followed an "unusually mild" December, the Fed said.

"Overall industrial production and manufacturing output was weaker than expected in January," High Frequency Economics chief US economist Rubeela Farooqi wrote in a note to clients.

She added that "higher borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions" would continue to be headwinds for the manufacturing sector in the year ahead.