US: Industrial Production in February contracts by 2.2% vs. +0.6% expected

• Industrial Production in US fell sharply in February amid severe weather conditions.
• US Dollar Index continues to fluctuate in daily range below 92.00.

Industrial Production in the United States contracted by 2.2% on a monthly basis in February, the US Federal Reserve reported on Tuesday. This reading followed January's expansion of 1.1% and missed the market expectation for an increase of 0.6% by a large margin.

Additional takeaways

"The severe winter weather in the south-central region of the country in mid-February accounted for the bulk of the declines in output for the month." 

"At 104.7% of its 2012 average, total industrial production in February was 4.2% lower than its year-earlier level."

"Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 1.7% in February to 73.8%, a rate that is 5.8% below its long-run (1972–2020) average."

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index showed no immediate reaction to this report and was last seen losing 0.07% on a daily basis at 91.77.