US: Industrial Production declined 0.3% in December vs. -0.2 expected

• Industrial Production contracted by 0.3% on a monthly basis in December.
• US Dollar Index clings to daily gains near mid-97s after data. 

Industrial Production in the US declined 0.3% in December, the data published by the Federal Reserve showed on Friday. This reading came in slightly worse than the market expectation for a decrease of 0.2%.

"For the fourth quarter as a whole, total Industrial Production moved down at an annual rate of 0.5%," the publication read. "Capacity Utilization for the industrial sector fell 0.4% in December to 77.0%."

Finally, the press release revealed that manufacturing output in the same period expanded by 0.2% but fell at an annual rate of 1%.

The US Dollar Index paid little to mind to the data and was last up 0.21% on the day at 97.51.