U.s. Growth fared Well in Dec, Casting more Doubt on the Weak Payrolls Report

Quotes BMO Capital Markets:

- U.S. Industrial production rose 0.3% in December, as expected, and while November’s increase was shaded a tad lower, September and October were bumped up a little. Interestingly, despite a particularly cold and snow-heavy December, utilities actually fell in the month, down 1.4%.

- In fact, most of the major industries were higher in December, except for business equipment. This is a little surprising as there may have been a run-up in orders ahead of the year-end expiration of the bonus depreciation rules, which should translate into stronger production.

- In any event, overall U.S. industrial production ended the year on a positive note, lifting the capacity utilization rate up a bit from 79.1% to a 5