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This week the Federal Reserve reported that industrial production in the United States closed down in December 2022, after two months of stagnation, precisely at a time when all the necessary measures are being applied to curb inflation.
The Total industrial production decreased 0.7% in the United States in December 2022. The report indicates that manufacturing output per se fell 1.3% amid widespread declines across the sector. Likewise, the industrial capacity utilization rate in December was 78.8%, the lowest percentage in the last semester of 2022. Total industrial production at the level was 1.6% above the level of a year ago.
In turn, the report indicates that the public services index rose 3.8% in December, as low temperatures boosted heating demand, while the mining index fell 0.9%.
This effect would be expected from the high interest rate policies applied to contain inflation. The Fed announced that this fall in the industry was more than expected. I know fears that production in factories will continue to lose momentum.
December saw the seventh and last rise in interest rates since March. Whether or not they will continue to rise remains to be seen in relation to how the inflationary decline continues.
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