Rebound in Industrial Production

The market is up again this morning, and again, not by much. This could be the fifth daily gain in a row for the S&P 500.

We also finally got some good production news. This morning, the industrial production report for November showed an increase of 1.1%. That’s pretty good. Wall Street had been expecting an increase of 0.7%. Some of this was due to the end of the GM strike.

The Fed’s measure of the industrial sector comprises manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities.

There was a 12.4% jump in the production of motor vehicles and parts in November. Overall, production rose 2.1% for consumer goods and 1.7% for business equipment, the Fed said.

Utilities output increased 2.9% compared to a decline of 2.4% in the previous month.

The manufacturing sector, which makes up about 11% of the U.S. economy, has been weakened by a 17-month trade war between the United States and China.

Last Friday, the world’s two largest economies announced a “Phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of American farm goods.

Posted by on December 17th, 2019 at 2:34 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.