U.S. Industrial Production Rose 0.4% in June

WASHINGTON-U.S. industrial output rose steadily in June, as a rebound in oil exploration and coal mining boosted economic growth.

Industrial output-how much manufacturers, mining companies and utilities produced-grew 0.4% in June from May, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.3% gain.

Output has risen for five consecutive months, evidence the economy strengthened in the second quarter after a sluggish start to the year. Industrial production rose at annual rate of 4.7% in April though June, more than triple the first quarter's gain of 1.4%.

Production has risen 2% over the past year--in line with steady but modest overall economic growth.

The rebound has been driven by mining output, which grew 1.6% in June and has risen nearly 10% over the past year. Energy companies are boosting oil and gas extraction this year after several years of weakness caused by a drop in oil prices, which have rebounded. Coal mining has also increased.

Manufacturing output has grown more modestly. Factory output climbed 0.2% in June is up 1.2% over the year. Manufacturing of durable goods--long-lasting goods like machinery--climbed at a healthy pace in June, including steady growth in production of autos. Output of nondurable goods--everyday items like food and apparel--grew more tepidly.

Utility output, the final component of industrial production, was flat in June and has fallen 2.2% over the past 12 months.

Capacity use, a measure of the economy's output as a share of its potential, climbed two-tenths of a percentage point from a month earlier to 76.6% in June. The measure has risen 1% over the past year but remains more than 3 percentage points below its historical level.

The Federal Reserve's report on industrial production can be found at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/g17/current/default.htm.

Write to Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@wsj.com and Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 14, 2017 09:30 ET (13:30 GMT)