Industrial production in surprise jump
The Federal Reserve says output rose 0.7% in September versus a forecasted 0.2% rise.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Industrial production rose more than expected in September and recorded its largest quarterly gain in more than four years, government figures showed Friday.
The Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.7% last month after an upwardly revised increase of 1.2% in August. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a 0.2% rise.
The better-than-expected figures suggest that economic growth in the third quarter could be stronger than anticipated. In the second quarter, U.S. gross domestic product shrank at a 0.7% annual rate.
Output for the entire third quarter rose at an annual rate of 5.2%, the first quarterly gain since the first quarter of 2008 and the largest increase since the first quarter of 2005, according to the report.
The capacity utilization rate increased to 70.5%, up from a revised 69.9% in August. However, capacity utilization was 10.4 percentage points below its average for the years 1972 through 2008. 
