After the leap in January (+1,1%, revised from the previous +1%), the decline of Italian industry is back. In February, the seasonally adjusted production index calculated by Istat recorded a drop of 0,5% compared to the previous month and an increase of 0,4% on an annual basis. Economists' forecasts indicated a decline of 0,2% on the month and an increase of 0,7% on the year.
On average for the December-February quarter, the index recorded a slight increase on an annual basis (+0,1%), while on average for the first two months of the year, production increased by 0,8% compared to the same period in 2013.
The indices corrected for calendar effects recorded widespread increases in most of the main industrial groupings in February: intermediate goods and capital goods both increased by 2%, consumer goods by 1,8%. On the other hand, there was a marked decline in the energy sector (-9%).
The sectors that record the greatest trend growth are those of the production of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (+7,6%), of metallurgy and the manufacture of metal products, excluding machinery and plants (+5,3%), of manufacturing of means of transport (+4,9%) and of the textile, clothing, leather and accessories industries (+4,7%).
The most marked declines concern the sectors of the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air (-9,4%), the manufacture of electrical equipment and non-electrical domestic equipment (-8,8%), the mining ( -8,5%) and the manufacture of coke and petroleum products (-7,9%).
