US factory output sees rebound

Output at US factories rebounded in September after August’s steep plunge from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, the Federal Reserve said yesterday.

Still, economic disruption from the back-to-back hurricanes of September and August weighed on industrial production, resulting in a decline for the third quarter, the central bank said.

September’s gain reflected a rise in oil and gas production after Harvey idled much of the nation’s Gulf Coast energy hub in August.

Economists say the storms, which shut down oil production and disrupted millions of lives, will result in a temporary slowdown in economic activity but they expect a rebound in the final quarter of 2017.

The Fed said total industrial output rose by 0.3 percent in September, though August was revised upward by 0.2 points to a fall of 0.7 percent.