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)