WASHINGTON — U.S. industrial production slowed to a modest increase of 0.4% in August, far weaker than the strong bounce back recorded in previous months when factories were coming back to life.

The slight increase reported today by the Federal Reserve followed gains of 3.5% in July and 6.1% in June, when the industrial sector knocked down by the pandemic began to rebound.

For August, manufacturing rose 1% but mining, which includes oil and gas exploration, fell 2.5%. Production at the nation’s utilities was off 0.4%.