U.S. industrial output increased in July, as American factories operated at their highest capacity in more than three years, the Federal Reserve (Fed) reported today. Overall output of U.S. factories, mines, and utilities rose 0.4 percent, while capacity utilization increased to 77.1 percent. However, both figures were below Wall Street projections. In June, output fell 0.5 percent while capacity in use was 76.9 percent. The brightest spot in the July report was manufacturing, which accounts for more than four-fifths of overall industrial output. Factory production rose 0.6 percent after June's 0.2 percent decline, and factories operated at 76.3 percent of full capacity, their fastest pace since April 2001. -- SP 2204 Local Time 1904 GMT
