December's US industrial production came in hotter than expected—0.4% month-over-month, beating the 0.1% forecast and matching the previous month's revised figure. That's the kind of number that gets people watching macro data seriously.

Breaking it down: manufacturing output posted 0.2%, which sounds modest but actually beat the bearish -0.1% estimate and outpaced November's flat reading. The real story here is the momentum shift. After years of manufacturing headwinds, we're seeing actual positive surprises.

Capacity utilisation hit 76.3%, creeping up from the 76.0% consensus and previous month reading. Nothing spectacular on the surface, but watch this—it signals factories are ramping up operations without necessarily maxing out infrastructure. Room to run matters when you're thinking about supply chains and inflation trajectories.

Why does this land on your radar? Industrial strength typically correlates with risk-on market sentiment. Stronger US manufacturing usually props up dollar strength and influences Fed rate expectations, which ripple directly into crypto volatility. Whether this is a genuine economic shift or a blip in a slowing trend will matter for your portfolio positioning.