Another positive US economic report is in the books

Another positive US economic report is in the books. This time, it's industrial production with the big upswing. After declining 0.3% in April, industrial production climbed sharply in May, up 0.6%. The annual trend, at 4.3%, also looks healthy. All the major market groups showed growth, with business equipment, construction, and materials reporting the biggest gains. Overall, manufacturing output increased by 0.6% after posting a negative 0.1% last month. Total capacity utilization also climbed 0.2% to 79.1%, which is still 1% below the long-run average. The numbers look particularly strong given the confirmation from other sources, such as today's New York Fed's Empire Manufacturing Report, which came in substantially higher than estimates. Now the question is, will higher oil prices put a damper on forthcoming production? (VIEW LINK)