04:00 PM EDT, 03/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US industrial production unexpectedly edged higher last month as manufacturing rebounded, according to Federal Reserve data published Friday.

Industrial output gained 0.1% in February after falling by a downwardly revised 0.5% in January, the Fed said. The consensus was for production to be flat, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

"While the upturn in industrial production was welcome, some of it was due to rebounds from weather-related drops in manufacturing and mining output in January," BMO Senior Economist Jay Hawkins said in a note. "The manufacturing sector is likely to remain weak until the (Federal Reserve) starts cutting interest rates this summer."

Annually, industrial production dipped 0.2%, which Hawkins said marked an improvement from the year-over-year decline of 0.3% registered in January. Production has fallen annually in six of the last seven months amid high interest rates and weak demand, according to Hawkins.

Among major industry groups, manufacturing output ticked up 0.8% last month after falling a downwardly revised 1.1% in January. Durable manufacturing gained 1% while the index for nondurable rose 0.7%.

Within durables, wood products increased 2.4%, while motor vehicles and parts rose 1.8%. Among nondurables, chemicals grew 1.6%.

Mining jumped 2.2% after falling 2.9% in January, rising at the fastest pace since January 2023, according to BMO. Utilities tumbled 7.5% with electric and natural gas dropping by 6.5% and 13%, respectively, the Federal Reserve data showed. The decline in utilities was "because of warmer-than-typical temperatures," the Fed said.

Capacity utilization was unchanged at 78.3% in February, which the Fed said is 1.3 percentage points below its long-run average. Hawkins called the capacity utilization data "upbeat" and indicative of disinflationary pressures in the industrial sector.