Italian industrial production is still suffering after the sprint at the beginning of the year which had hinted at signs of recovery. According to the latest Istat data released today, in March the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production decreased by 0,5% compared to February and by 0,4% in trend terms, while on average for the January-March quarter it recorded a increase of 0,1%, mainly due to the good performance seen in the first month of the new year.
Today's reading is also below the expectations of analysts who estimated a monthly improvement of 0,3% and a trend increase of 1,2%. The revised data for February, on the other hand, indicate zero annual growth and a very slight monthly improvement (+0,1%).
As regards the sectors of economic activity, the sectors recording the greatest trend growth are those of metallurgy and the manufacture of metal products, excluding machinery and equipment, of the manufacture of means of transport and of the wood, paper and printing industries.
The greatest decreases were instead recorded in the sectors of the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air, the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products and the manufacture of electrical appliances and non-electrical household appliances.
