US industrial production fell for the fourth consecutive month in February, to a 2002 low, as the manufacturing sector reeled from recession, government data showed today.
The Federal Reserve reported industrial production fell 1.4% from January, slightly more than analysts' forecast of a 1.3% drop and extending a slide of 1.9% in January.
The last time the index advanced was in October, by 1.7%. The index has declined for 10 of the past 12 months.
The industrial sector's capacity utilisation rate dropped to almost 71%, 10 percentage points below its average in the 1972-2008 period.
