Production at U.S. manufacturers increased in December by more than projected, marking an eighth straight month of gains as steady yet more moderate demand growth and lean inventories continue to power the sector’s recovery.

Output at factories rose 0.9 per cent from the prior month after a 0.8 per cent gain in November, Federal Reserve data showed Friday. Total industrial production, which also includes mines and utilities, jumped 1.6 per cent in December after an upwardly revised 0.5 per cent gain a month earlier.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 0.5 per cent gains in both manufacturing output and industrial production.