The decline on an annual basis in industrial production continued in September, however, marking a small recovery compared to the month of August. Indeed, according to Istat data, the production index corrected for working days recorded a 3% drop in September on a trend basis (after -4,6% in August).
Compared to the previous month, however, the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production rose by 0,2% on the previous month increased by 0,2%. In the third quarter the data on production showed a drop of 1% compared to the second quarter. This is the tenth consecutive decline on a quarterly basis. On average for the first 9 months of 2012, production fell by 3,9% on an annual basis.
Compared to September 2012, all sectors were down, and in particular capital goods (-5,2%), energy (-5,1%) and consumer goods (-3,2%). The smallest decline is that of intermediate goods.
