Industrial production falls by largest amount in 4 months

WASHINGTON -- Industrial output fell in February by the biggest amount in four months, providing yet another gloomy assessment of the economy's health.

The Federal Reserve said Monday that output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities dropped by 0.5 percent in February, the biggest decline since a 0.6 percent fall last October.

It was a far weaker reading than the slight increase of 0.1 percent that many analysts had been expecting. It served to underscore the severity of the current economic slowdown.

The Federal Reserve moved aggressively over the weekend to keep a crisis in financial markets from spreading and Fed officials are expected to follow with another sizable cut in interest rates for consumers at their regular meeting on Tuesday.

However, many economists believe the moves have not come in time to keep the country out of a recession although analysts said they should limit the severity of the downturn.