The FINANCIAL — Italian industrial production declined 0.3% in seasonally-adjusted terms in April, its third consecutive monthly decline, but capital goods production expanded, national statistics institute Istat said Monday.
Industrial output in the euro zone's third-largest economy was down 4.6% in April from the same month a year earlier, Istat said, using workday-adjusted terms for the annualized figure, according to Borsa Italiana Spa.
Output in Italy's energy sector fell 1.5% on the month, while capital goods production–often a leading indicator for business investment–rose 1.2%, according to Istat's data. Intermediate goods production fell 0.1% and the consumer goods sector fell 0.9%, with a 4.9% monthly drop for durable goods, Istat said.
The energy, transportation and textile sectors posted the largest monthly declines, while the country's electronics and optics sector saw a 4.9% gain, Istat said.
The monthly decline matched the forecast by economists at Milan-based UniCredit.
Istat also reported that industrial production fell 4.4% in the first quarter from the first three months of 2012.
That's larger than the 2.3% annualized contraction in Italy's gross domestic product during the period. Istat will publish a more detailed second estimate of Italy's GDP at 0900 GMT.
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