India, Jan. 17 -- With utilities output plummeting amid a slump in demand for heating, the Federal Reserve released a report on Friday showing a modest pullback in U.S. industrial production in the month of December.

The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.3 percent in December after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.8 percent in November.

Economists had expected industrial production to dip by 0.2 percent compared to the 1.1 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The pullback in production came as utilities output plunged by 5.6 percent in December after surging up by 1.0 percent in November, with unseasonably warm weather leading to a large decrease in demand for heating.

Meanwhile, the report said manufactur...