US industrial output falls for fifth month to 10-year low

Washington, April 15: US industrial production fell in March for the fifth consecutive month, by 1.5 per cent, to the lowest level in a decade amid a prolonged recession, government data showed on Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted monthly decline matched the
revised 1.5 per cent drop in February, the Federal Reserve
said, adding 0.1 point to the initial February estimate.

The March slide in output widely surpassed market
expectations of a 0.9 per cent decline.

For the first quarter of the year, industrial output
dropped at an annual rate of 20.0 per cent, the largest
quarterly decline "of the current contraction," the Fed said.

The world`s largest economy slid into recession in
December 2007.

Bureau Report