U.S. industrial production for December came in a bit weaker than expected, but the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for mid-January blew away expectations, giving economists another mixed view on the recovery.

The Federal Reserve said that ndustrial production rose a smaller-than-expected 0.1%. Economists had expected production is expected to rise by 0.4%, compared with a rise of 0.9% in November.

Despite the disappointing headline, BMO Nesbitt Burns points out that the reading was restrained by a 1.4% decline in utilities, which should do better during a chilly January. “Factories continue to boost production, as manufacturing grew by 0.3%, to stand 2.9% above year-ago levels.

“Although manufacturing output increased by 0.3%, further evidence of a near-term recovery in manufacturing, most of the major market groups experienced modest decreases in December,” offers RBC Financial, “with the declines focused in the non-durable goods sector, which was flat. Durable goods production increased by 0.6% and capacity utilization was unchanged at 75.8% in December.”

In a separate report. the University of Michigan reported its index measuring consumers’ collective mood jumped to 103.2 in a mid-January reading from 92.6 in December. January’s reading was the highest since November 2000 and was well above the 94 economists had expected.

The biggest improvement was in consumers’ assessment of current conditions, which has lagged behind their expectations for the future. The current-conditions subindex shot up over 10 points to 108.9. A measure of expectations jumped nearly 10 points as well, to 99.5.

Meanwhile, business inventories increased 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted $1.19 trillion, following a 0.4% gain in October, the Commerce Department reported earlier Friday.

Economists had expected inventories to rise by only 0.2%. Many say inventories are lean. Factoring in rising economic growth, many expect companies to keep restocking shelves.