U.S. industrial production contracts more than expected in September.

On Thursday, the Federal Reserve of the United States released data on the country's industrial production for September, which showed a contraction in industrial production in the U.S. at a pace that exceeded market expectations.

On a monthly basis, U.S. industrial production contracted by 0.3%, which was worse than market expectations that estimated a contraction of only 0.1%. This came after U.S. industrial production had recorded a growth of 0.3% by the end of August.

At the same time, the data indicated that the capacity utilization rate in the U.S. increased to 77.5% in September, which also came in lower than market expectations, which indicated an increase in the capacity utilization rate to 77.9%, after it was recorded at 77.8% in July.

It is noteworthy that this indicator measures the amount of change in the value of production adjusted for inflation that is produced by factories, mines, and utilities. Therefore, this indicator is one of the leading indicators that reflect the health of the economy, as production is quickly affected by the business cycle, and it is also linked to consumer conditions in terms of employment and wage levels.

Additionally, the industrial production index is considered one of the leading indicators for measuring the health of the economy, as production is quickly affected by fluctuations in the business cycle in addition to its connection to consumer conditions such as employment levels and profits.