Industrial activity dipped 0.1 percent last month, clawing back a portion of the 0.8 percent rise in the previous month, the Federal Reserve reports. The slump surprised analysts, who were expecting a 0.3% gain, according to Econoday.com’s consensus forecast. The manufacturing component, however, posted a modest 0.2% rise, which tells us that last month’s weakness wasn’t broadly based. Nonetheless, the soft numbers in October weighed on the year-over-year trend, leaving industrial production rising 4.0% — the slowest pace in six months.
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