WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Industrial output rose 0.2 percent in August, matching expectations for a sharp slowdown from the prior month when auto production was unusually strong, Federal Reserve data showed on Wednesday.
July's gain of 0.6 percent was revised down from a previously reported 1.0 percent jump because of newly available data on iron, steel and other manufacturing industries, the U.S. central bank said.
Economists had widely expected August's industrial production to be softer than July's because of an unusual spike in auto manufacturing. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, total industry output increased 0.4 percent in August, compared with July's 0.3 percent gain.
Mining output jumped 1.2 percent last month, while utilities dropped 1.5 percent.
Capacity utilization, a measure of slack in the economy, rose modestly to 74.7 percent, a rate 4.7 percentage points above the year-ago level but still 5.9 points below the 1972-to-2009 average.
(Editing by James Dalgleish)
