<p>US industrial production fell 2.2 per cent in February, the Federal Reserve said on Tuesday, a worse-than-expected figured caused by winter storms that knocked factories offline in parts of the country.</p>.<p>"The severe winter weather in the south central region of the country in mid-February accounted for the bulk of the declines in output for the month," the central bank said.</p>.<p>Manufacturing output fell 3.1 per cent in the month, mining lost 5.4 per cent, the report said. But utilities output increased 7.4 per cent compared to January.</p>.<p>And overall production remains 4.2 per cent below the February 2020 level.</p>.<p>Severe and unusual winter storms shuttered businesses and knocked out power in Texas, the country's second most-populous state.</p>.<p>"Most notably, some petroleum refineries, petrochemical facilities, and plastic resin plants suffered damage from the deep freeze and were offline for the rest of the month," the Fed said.</p>.<p>The central bank noted that without that storm, manufacturing would have fallen only around 0.5 per cent nationwide, while mining would have increased by the same amount.</p>.<p>February's decline was the worst since the Covid-19 pandemic began last year and also partly fueled by the global shortage in semiconductors, said Oren Klachkin of Oxford Economics.</p>.<p>But he predicted government stimulus spending and the deployment of Covid-19 vaccines would restore growth in months ahead, though its pace could moderate as the service sector reopens later in the year.</p>.<p>"Healthy goods demand, healing business investment and historic fiscal stimulus are set to propel solid industrial sector growth," he said.</p>
<p>US industrial production fell 2.2 per cent in February, the Federal Reserve said on Tuesday, a worse-than-expected figured caused by winter storms that knocked factories offline in parts of the country.</p>.<p>"The severe winter weather in the south central region of the country in mid-February accounted for the bulk of the declines in output for the month," the central bank said.</p>.<p>Manufacturing output fell 3.1 per cent in the month, mining lost 5.4 per cent, the report said. But utilities output increased 7.4 per cent compared to January.</p>.<p>And overall production remains 4.2 per cent below the February 2020 level.</p>.<p>Severe and unusual winter storms shuttered businesses and knocked out power in Texas, the country's second most-populous state.</p>.<p>"Most notably, some petroleum refineries, petrochemical facilities, and plastic resin plants suffered damage from the deep freeze and were offline for the rest of the month," the Fed said.</p>.<p>The central bank noted that without that storm, manufacturing would have fallen only around 0.5 per cent nationwide, while mining would have increased by the same amount.</p>.<p>February's decline was the worst since the Covid-19 pandemic began last year and also partly fueled by the global shortage in semiconductors, said Oren Klachkin of Oxford Economics.</p>.<p>But he predicted government stimulus spending and the deployment of Covid-19 vaccines would restore growth in months ahead, though its pace could moderate as the service sector reopens later in the year.</p>.<p>"Healthy goods demand, healing business investment and historic fiscal stimulus are set to propel solid industrial sector growth," he said.</p>