US industrial output falls

US industrial production fell in March for the fifth consecutive month, by 1.5 percent, to the lowest level in a decade amid a prolonged recession, government data showed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted monthly decline matched the 1.5 percent drop in February, revised up from a prior estimate of 1.4 percent, the Federal Reserve said.
The March slide was much steeper than the 0.9 percent decline expected by most analysts.
Output in March dropped to its lowest level since December 1998 and was nearly 13 percent below its year-earlier level.
On a 12-month basis, output was down a hefty 12.8 percent.
For the first quarter of the year, industrial output dropped at a punishing annual rate of 20.0 percent, the largest quarterly decline "of the current contraction," the Fed said.
Output had fallen 12.7 percent in the final quarter of 2008.