Industrial production edged higher in June

WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- Industrial production rose 0.3 percent in June after a flat month in May, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

At an annual rate, industrial production gained 0.6 percent, unchanged from May.

Manufacturing output in June rose by 0.3 percent after rising 0.2 percent in May. Production at mines in June rose 0.8 percent, while output at utility companies fell 0.1 percent.

Total production in May was at 99.1 percent of its 2007 average and 2 percent above the level of June 2012, the Fed said.

The rate of capacity utilization among industrial firms -- the percentage of production compared to companies going at full steam -- rose 0.1 percentage points to 77.8 percent.