The Federal Reserve released a report on Thursday showing industrial production in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in the month of July.
The report said industrial production decreased by 0.6 percent in July after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in June.
Economists had expected industrial production to dip by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The bigger than expected decline by industrial production partly reflected a sharp pullback by utilities output, which plunged by 3.7 percent in July after surging by 2.6 percent in June.