Industrial Production Slumps 0.3% In April For 5th Straight Decline

Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in April, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Revised data from the U.S. central bank showed that this was now the fifth straight decline in output. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.2% decline in April. Beneath the headlines, manufacturing output was flat. Excluding autos, manufacturing was down 0.1%. As expected, mining and utilities output declined last month. Capacity utilization dipped to 78.2% from 78.6% in March, indicating little cost pressure on goods prices.