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May factory output rises
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June 16, 1999: 9:54 a.m. ET
Production increases 0.2%, less than expected; utilization rate slips
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. industrial production rose for a fourth straight month in May, the government reported Wednesday, a sign that domestic demand and recovering global economies are still keeping factories busy.
The Federal Reserve Board said output at factories, mines, and utilities rose 0.2 percent last month, slightly less than the Reuters economists' consensus of a 0.3 percent gain and below the revised 0.4 increase registered in April. April's production output was originally reported as having increased 0.6 percent.
The capacity utilization rate, which measures the amount of industrial capacity currently in use, drifted to 80.5 percent in May from 80.6 percent in April; analysts had expected the rate to be unchanged.
Among individual sectors, manufacturing output advanced 0.4 percent in the month after rising 0.4 percent in April. Mining output rose 0.1 percent in May after decreasing 0.6 percent a month earlier. Output at utilities, meanwhile, decreased 2.2 percent after a 0.3 percent gain in April.
The report was one of three released by the government Wednesday that will provide grist for Federal Reserve policy makers when they meet June 29-30 to discuss monetary policy and a possible boost in interest rates.
Earlier Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that the consumer price index was unchanged in May, lower than analysts' expectations of a 0.2 percent rise. And the Commerce Department said housing starts rose to an annual rate of 1.68 million, more than analysts expected. 
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Federal Reserve
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