“US Factory Production Rises in April Driven by Auto Industry, but Remains Constrained by Higher Interest Rates”

US Factory Production rose in April, driven by higher production at auto plants, but manufacturing remains constrained by higher interest rates. The Federal Reserve (the US central bank) said today, Tuesday, that the production of the manufacturing sector grew by 1 percent last month. Data for the month of March was revised to show that factory production fell 0.8 percent instead of 0.5 percent as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected factory output to grow by 0.1 percent. Production fell 0.9% year-on-year in April. Auto production jumped 9.3 percent last month, after falling 1.9 percent in March. Excluding the auto sector, industrial production increased 0.4 percent after declining 0.7 percent in March.