•U.S. economy

Industrial production up: The Federal Reserve yesterday said U.S. industrial production rose in July, boosted by gains in automobiles, metals and machinery. A separate report from the Fed Bank of New York showed manufacturing in that region this month unexpectedly grew as the cost of raw materials subsided. Yesterday’s index of consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, improved to 56.8, the highest since March, from 53.5. (Bloomberg)

•Companies

Netflix offers credit: Netflix, the largest U.S. mail-order movie service, said it has resumed shipping from all distribution centers after “severe technical issues” caused delays for three days. The company will give millions of affected customers a 15-percent credit on their next bill. Netflix had experienced delays and outages since Aug. 12. It was the second time the company has been unable to send movies through the mail in its 10-year history. (Bloomberg)

•Markets

Dollar advances: The dollar rose against major currencies yesterday in New York, ending at 110.56 Japanese yen, up from Thursday’s close of 109.47 yen. The euro closed at 3:30 p.m. at $1.4680, down from $1.4885.

Metals plunge: Gold for current delivery closed at $786.00 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from Thursday’s close of $808.20. Silver closed at $12.801 an ounce, down from $14.214.

Fuels mixed: September light, sweet crude oil fell $1.24 to $113.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling to $111.34, its lowest price since May 2. Heating oil futures rose 2 cents to settle at $3.1191 a gallon, while gasoline prices slipped 5.18 cents to settle at $2.8602 a gallon. Natural gas for September delivery fell 4.4 cents to settle at $8.092 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Treasury securities: Treasuries rose, pushing yields to a one-month low, as falling commodity prices reduced speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. The yield on the benchmark two-year note fell 5 basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 2.39 percent at 4:04 p.m. in New York, down 11 basis points on the week.

Wire reports