US factory output advances 0.4% in September

US factory output rose in September on the back of rising output of durable and non-durable goods, indicating that the sector remains in reasonable shape despite efforts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to rein in the demand by raising interest rates.

Manufacturing output grew 0.4% last month, the same pace as in August, the Federal Reserve reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast industrial production to rise 0.2%; at an annual rate, production increased 4.7 percent.

Capacity utilization, which measures the extent to which producers are using resources, rose to 80.3% last month, from an upwardly revised 80.1% in August.

For its part, the production of vehicles and spare parts, which has experienced notable volatility due to the global shortage of semiconductors used in vehicle operating systems, increased 1% after falling 1.5% in August and increasing 3.6% in July.

Builder confidence falls

The other side of the coin is homebuilder confidence which fell for a 10th month in October as rising mortgage rates and building materials bottlenecks put buying new homes out of reach for many.

The confidence index among US builders compiled by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) fell to 38 points in October. A Reuters poll of analysts forecast the index at 43 points. The data for September had shown a level of 46 points.

The housing sector has been the hardest hit, as interest rates on the most popular type of home loan in the United States approach 7% (the highest since 2006) while new and existing home sales they have plummeted about 25% since January.

The two data illustrate the uneven impact that rate hikes are having on the economy so far.

Today the figures for September will be published on the number of new houses that began to be built and the volume of permits that are granted for construction projects of these, which have decreased considerably this year. It is estimated that both would have fallen again.