Investing.com - Industrial production in the U.S. fell more than expected in March, dampening optimism over the health of the economy, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, worse than expectations for a decline of 0.1%.
Industrial production dropped by 0.6% in February, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported decrease of 0.5%.
Meanwhile, manufacturing production declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month, worse than forecasts for a 0.1% increase and following a decline of 0.1% in February, that was revised down from an initial gain of 0.1%.
The report also showed that the capacity utilization rate, a measure of how fully firms are using their resources, fell to 74.8% in March from 75.3% a month earlier. The February number was revised down from an initial read of 76.7%
Analysts had expected a smaller decline to 75.4%.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1282 from around 1.1273 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4174 from 1.4155 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 108.90 from 108.84 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.79, compared to 94.86 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures slipped 0.10%, the S&P 500 futures ticked down 0.16%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.24%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,230.70 a troy ounce, compared to $1,233.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $40.51 a barrel from $40.38 earlier.