In May, Italian industrial production fell by 1,2% on the month – the worst figure since November 2012 – and by 1,8% on the year. Economists' forecasts indicated an increase of 0,2% on the month and 1,1% on the year. In April, the index had risen by 0,5% on a quarterly basis, revised by +0,7%. This was communicated by Istat, which speaks of "very negative" data.
On average for the March-May quarter, the index recorded a decrease of 0,4% compared to the December-February period. In the first five months of the year, production increased by 0,1% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In May, the seasonally adjusted index shows only one positive cyclical change in the energy sector (+0,8%); Negative changes, on the other hand, mark capital goods (-1,7%), intermediate goods and consumer goods (both -1,5%). The indices corrected for calendar effects show only one trend increase in the grouping of intermediate goods (+0,5%); on the other hand capital goods (-3,9%), energy (-2,0%) and consumer goods (-1,7%) decreased.
As regards the sectors of economic activity, the sectors that recorded a trend growth are those of mining (+3,7%), the manufacture of articles in rubber and plastic materials, other products of the processing of non-metallic minerals (+ 2,9%) and the food, beverage and tobacco industries (+0,2%).
The worst falls are recorded in the sectors of manufacturing electrical appliances and non-electrical household appliances (-6,5%), other manufacturing industries, repair and installation of machines and equipment (-4,6%) and manufacturing of computers, electronic and optical products, electromedical devices, measuring devices and watches (-3,9%).
