Industrial production in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve on Friday.

The Fed said industrial production jumped by 0.9 percent in December after rising by a revised 0.2 percent in November.

The much bigger than expected increase by industrial production partly reflected substantial rebounds by utilities and mining output.

Utilities output surged by 2.1 percent in December after falling by 0.7 percent in November, while mining output jumped by 1.8 percent in December following a 0.5 percent decrease in November.

The report said manufacturing output also climbed by 0.6 percent in December after rising by 0.4 percent in the previous month.

The Fed noted gains in the output of aircraft and parts contributed 0.2 percentage points to total industrial production growth following the resolution of a work stoppage at Boeing (BA).

The report also said capacity utilization in the industrial sector rose to 77.6 percent in December from an upwardly revised 77.0 percent in November.

Capacity utilization in the mining and utilities sectors jumped to 90.8 percent and 71.1 percent, respectively, while capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector rose to 76.6 percent.

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