Industrial Production

Industrial production measures the real output of a country's manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors, published as an index and usually quoted as a month-on-month or year-on-year change. It is a volume measure rather than a value one, so it is not distorted by price changes the way a revenue figure would be. For currency traders it matters most in economies where industry is a large share of output and of exports, and it is often read alongside the manufacturing PMI: the survey leads, and the production data confirms or contradicts it. Utility output makes the series weather-sensitive, which is a common source of a surprise that reverses the following month.