Very slight growth in industrial production in June. According to the survey by the Confindustria Study Center, in fact, production in the month of June it grew by 0,1% compared to May, although it is down 1,7% year-on-year. Activity in May had grown by 0,5% compared to April. The distance from the pre-crisis peak of activity (April 2008) is -24,6%. The slight increase in activity in June was driven by the clear month-on-month improvement in foreign demand, which offset the decline on the domestic front.
As for volume orders, always in June there was a decrease of 0,1% compared to May and of 2,0% on an annual basis. In May they decreased by 0,3% on April and by 3,1% on May 2012. For the second quarter of 2013, the CSC estimates a contraction of production equal to 0,8%, after the drop of 0,5% scored in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2012.
Prospects improving, however, as regards the third quarter. The signal is also confirmed by Istat data on the climate of confidence in manufacturing companies, up by 1,5 points in June.
Attachments: CSC Industrial Production Press Release_July 1st 2013.pdf
