US factory production increased during November

Production in American factories increased in November, driven by a partial recovery in automobile production following the end of a strike organized by the United Auto Workers union against the “Big Three” auto manufacturers in the American city of Detroit.

According to Reuters, the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) said on Friday that factory production rose 0.3% last month.

Data for October was revised downwards to show a decline in factory production by 0.8% instead of 0.7% as reported in previous reports.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected production to recover by 0.4%

The manufacturing sector, which represents 11.1 percent of the US economy, continues to be affected by high borrowing costs. Despite the calm in economic conditions and the prospects of lowering interest rates next year, a rapid improvement in manufacturing activity is unlikely amid signs that companies are withdrawing significantly from inventories in anticipation of a decline in the volume of demand.

The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and indicated in new economic forecasts that the historical tightening of monetary policy carried out carefully over the past two years has ended and that borrowing costs will decline in 2024.