U.S. manufacturing output unexpectedly declined in March by the most since February 2015, indicating factories remain scarred by global challenges that are slow to dissipate.
The 0.3 percent drop at factories, which make up 75 percent of production, followed a revised 0.1 percent decrease the prior month, a Federal Reserve report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.1 percent advance. Total industrial production, including mines and utilities, slumped by a weaker-than-estimated 0.6 percent for a second month.
