U.S. Physical Economy Still Not Caught Up

U.S. industrial production, which has been rising slowly for months, remained (through May) 1.5% below the pre-pandemic level of March 2020. Manufacturing activity is 1.1% below March 2020; and industrial capacity utilization, at 75.2%, is also still down 1.1% from that pre-pandemic point. China’s industrial production figures for May showed an 8.8% increase from May 2020 – and this was below consensus expectations, whatever those may be.