U.S. industrial production stagnates in May, missing forecasts
Investing.com – Industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly stagnated in May, dampening optimism over the health of the economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production registered no change in May from the previous month, below expectations for a 0.2% rise and compared to a gain of 1.1% in April that was revised from an initial 1.0% advance.
Meanwhile, manufacturing production unexpectedly decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month, worse than forecasts for a 0.1% rise and following a gain of 1.1% in March that was revised slightly higher from the initial 1.0% advance.
The report also showed that the capacity utilization rate, a measure of how fully firms are using their resources, fell to 76.6% in May. Analysts had expected no change to the prior reading of 76.7%.
After the report, EUR/USD traded at 1.1151 compared to 1.1153 before the release, GBP/USD was at 1.2745 from 1.2744 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 110.24 from 110.33 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was unchanged at 97.39.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures were trading lower. The blue-chip Dow futures dropped 84 points, or 0.40%, the S&P 500 futures lost 15 points, or 0.61%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 53 points, or 0.92%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,255.72 compared to $1,255.14 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $44.47 a barrel from $44.52 earlier.
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