The Federal Reserve released its industrial production report on Friday. The U.S. industrial production decreased 0.1% in December, missing expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 1.3% gain in November.
The decline was driven by lower output of utilities. The output of utilities dropped 7.3% in December "as warmer-than-usual temperatures reduced demand for heating".
Capacity utilisation rate declined to 79.7% in December from 80.0% in November. November's figure was revised up from 80.1%.
Analysts had expected a capacity utilisation rate of 80.2%.