ECONOMY

Industrial Output Climbed in June: The Federal Reserve Board said production climbed 0.5% last month as the sizzling heat in most parts of the country caused a big jump in utility use. It was the 13th straight increase for production at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities. But the Fed said that if the higher electricity output were excluded, production rose a mere 0.1% last month, matching May’s increase. In another report, the Commerce Department said business inventories rose 1.1% in May, the largest increase in nearly seven years. The bigger-than-expected gain was the fourth advance in the first five months of the year and the largest since inventories rose 1.3% in October, 1987.