U.S. industrial production up 0.7 percent in February

U.S. industrial production advanced in February after a flat month in January, boosted mainly by an increase in auto and auto parts output, the U.S. Federal Reserve reported on Friday.

The industrial production, an indicator of the output of mines, factories and utilities, rose 0.7 percent in February, the biggest gain in three months.

Manufacturing output, the largest component of the overall industrial production, rose 2.0 percent last month. The largest rise was in the output of motor vehicles and parts, which climbed 3.6 percent after a 4.9-percent decline in January.

Meanwhile, the output of the mining sector increased 3.4 percent and the output of utilities jumped 5.8 percent last month.

The report also showed that overall industrial capacity utilization -- a key measure of slack in the industrial economy -- stood at 79.6 percent in February, 0.4 percentage points higher than in the previous month, but still 0.6 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2012.