According to the Confindustria Study Center, industrial production fell by 0,2% in March compared to February. In turn, a decrease of 0,8% on January and 3,8% on an annual basis was recorded in the second month of the year, as Istat communicated today. Last month the distance from the pre-crisis activity peak (April 2008) reached -24,2%. Confindustria calculates that in the first quarter of 2013 industrial production decreased by 0,1% on the fourth quarter of 2012, when it fell by 2,2% on the third.
The CSC underlines that “the available indicators do not outline a clear trend reversal for the coming months. The second quarter acquires a cyclical variation of -0,4% from the first. Entrepreneurs' expectations on production and order books in three months improved slightly in March (balance of replies one point higher than in February, Istat survey), starting from historically very low levels. However, the assessments of purchasing managers on orders received from manufacturing companies signal marked declines: the relative manufacturing PMI index for Italy stood at 41,1 from 42,8 in February (lowest since May 2012). This decline is explained by the reduction in domestic demand against foreign orders believed to be on the increase for the third consecutive month".
