Inventories, Production Rise in Recent Reports

Industrial production and business inventories rose in recent months, a pair of government reports said Friday, but consumer confidence continued to suffer an independent survey said.

Industrial production rose 0.7% in January, the Federal Reserve said – its largest increase in six months. The increase was spearheaded by increased production of automobiles and auto parts, the U.S. central bank said.

The report on production at U.S. mines, factories and utilities was consistent with other government reports that showed increase factory production and orders in January.

The Fed added that industrial capacity utilization grew to 75.7% during January, the highest it has been since September.

In December, industrial production rose 0.4% and the utilization rate was 75.2%, the Fed reported.

Inventories at U.S. businesses in December grew 0.6% as companies increased their stockpiles to meet expected demand, the Commerce Department said.

Commerce added that business sales rose 0.2% in during the final month of 2002. In the previous month, inventories rose 0.3% and sales posted a 0.1% gain.

The University of Michigan said that a preliminary look at its index of consumer sentiment fell to 79.2 in February after posting a final figure of 82.4 in January.

A more definitive look at consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan will be released later in the month.