Industrial Production

By Laurent · Jul 2026

A monthly measure of output from the manufacturing, mining, and utilities sectors. Industrial production data helps gauge the strength of a country's productive economy and can influence currency direction.

What Industrial Production Measures

Industrial production tracks the real output of factories, mines, and utilities. In the U.S., it is published by the Federal Reserve Board, typically around the 15th of each month. The report also includes capacity utilization, which measures how much of the economy's productive potential is being used.

Relevance to Forex

Rising industrial production signals economic expansion, which can support a currency by increasing expectations for interest rate hikes. Declining production suggests economic weakness. The indicator is particularly important for manufacturing-heavy economies like Germany, Japan, and China.

Industrial production data complements Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) readings. While PMI is survey-based and forward-looking, industrial production provides hard data confirming whether manufacturing is actually expanding or contracting.

Key fact: Capacity utilization above 80% is often associated with inflationary pressures, as factories running near full capacity may face bottlenecks that drive up prices.

Trading Considerations

Industrial production releases rarely cause major market moves on their own but can reinforce trends established by other data points like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Retail Sales. Traders use it as a confirming indicator rather than a primary trading signal.

Best Time to Trade Forex