Investing.com – Industrial production in the U.S. rose more than expected in June, bolstering optimism over the health of the economy, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production increased by 0.4% from the previous month, above expectations for a 0.3% rise and compared to a gain of 0.1% in May that was revised from an initial unchanged reading.
Meanwhile, manufacturing production increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, in line with forecasts for a 0.2% rise and following a decline of 0.4% in May.
The report also showed that the capacity utilization rate, a measure of how fully firms are using their resources, edged up to 76.6% in June from 76.4% (revised from 76.6%) the prior month. Analysts had expected it to increase to 76.7%.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1460 from around 1.1458 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3006, compared to 1.3005 previously, while USD/JPY was at 112.35 from 112.34 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.05, compared to 95.06 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open. The Dow futures slipped 20 points or 0.10%, the S&P 500 futures rose 1 point, or 0.03%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 23 points, or 0.39%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,230.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,230.31 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $46.34, compared to $46.16 prior to the release.