Industrial production in the US pulled back slightly in October, but the big picture is still reasonably positive

Industrial production in the US pulled back slightly in October, but the big picture is still reasonably positive. After a 0.8% gain in September, industrial production fell by 0.1% last month. That's less than the 0.3% gain expected by economists, however not a huge surprise after the out-sized gains in September. Perhaps more importantly, the manufacturing component of the index climbed 0.2%, which is the most meaningful of the 3 industry components. The other two, mining and utilities, fell 0.9% and 0.7% respectively. Of the major market groups, business equipment showed the biggest advance in October, climbing 0.6%, while consumer goods and materials showed the largest declines at 0.2%. The index is 4% above last year's level, which suggests we're still clearly better off than in 2013. (VIEW LINK)