US industrial production declined due to severe winter weather

The Federal Reserve said today that industrial production in the US fell 2.2% in February after rising 1.1% in January, and manufacturing industries fell 3.1% in February after rising 1.2% in January. Production at auto factories fell by 8.3% in February, production in the mining sector decreased by 5.4% in February while the utility sector rose by 7.4% in February, due to a winter wave that swept across Texas and parts of the south. The overall industrial energy use index fell 1.7% to 73.8% in February, and the industrial capacity utilization index, which measures the extent to which firms fully use their resources, fell 2.3% to 72.3% in February.