U.S. manufacturing output recorded its largest increase in nine months in November as production expanded across the board, pointing to underlying strength in the economy.

Factory production rose 1.1 percent after advancing 0.4 percent in October, the Federal Reserve said on Monday.

"There is little evidence here that weaker global growth or a stronger dollar has hurt U.S. manufacturing," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.

The upbeat factory data joined bullish employment and retail sales reports in suggesting strength in the economy, even as growth in the fourth quarter is expected to moderate sharply after two back-to-back quarters of robust expansion.

Wall Street had expected manufacturing output to rise only 0.5 percent in November. The U.S. remains a bright spot in a troubled global economy, where growth has slowed in China and the euro zone. Japan has slipped back into recession.

But optimism over U.S. manufacturing was tempered somewhat by a New York Federal Reserve report showing its Empire State general business conditions index contracted in December for the first time since January 2013.

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