WASHINGTON -- Industrial production posted a better-than-expected increase in March, rebounding from a big decline the previous month.

The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that industrial production increased 0.3 percent last month following a sharp 0.7 percent decline in February. That was better than the small decline of 0.1 percent that economists had expected.

The strength last month came from a large 1.9 percent increase in output at the nation's utilities and a 0.9 percent increase in mining, a sector that also includes oil drilling. Manufacturing posted a more modest 0.1 percent rise after a decline of 0.5 percent in February.

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