Industrial output edges up

New York: Industrial production rose for an eighth straight month in February as gains in petroleum and utilities output outweighed a drop in auto production, the Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, New York-area manufacturing growth eased less than expected in March and an index of homebuilder sentiment retreated. The rise in February industrial output came after January's 0.9 percent gain, according to the Fed. Wall Street analysts expected no change following unusually harsh weather across much of the country. Output was up 1.7 percent from a year ago. "A modest pullback in output, given the bad weather, hardly points to any problems in the manufacturing sector," said Joel Naroff, President of Naroff Economic Advisors.

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Manufacturing output fell 0.2 percent in February, led by a 4.4 percent in production of autos and parts.Mining output rose two percent while utilities production rose 0.5 percent. "Undoubtedly, the bad weather hurt manufacturers to some extent, though it also probably helped create the nice increase in utility production," said Naroff.

Auto production was also hit by the closure of several Toyota factories in February following a series of recalls. U.S. industries operated at 72.7 percent of total capacity, up 0.2 percentage point from January but 7.9 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2009, according to the Fed.

Meanwhile, the New York Fed's Empire State manufacturing index slipped 2.1 points in March to 22.9, above Wall Street's expected 22. The employment sub index jumped 6.8 points to 12.4. The orders index also rebounded.