U.S. industrial output tumbles 1.1 percent in May

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. industrial production slid a steeper-than-expected 1.1 percent in May from the prior month with output off sharply at factories, utilities and mines, a Federal Reserve report showed on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting a 0.9 percent decline after a revised 0.7 percent drop in April, initially reported as a 0.5 percent decrease.

The data suggest that any slowdown in the pace of the recession that many economists have pointed to in recent weeks may be uneven.

The capacity utilization rate for total industry, a measure of slack in the economy, fell to 68.3 percent, the lowest level on records dating back to 1967.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Neil Stempleman)