According to the report from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), industrial production grew by 0.5% in May after declining by 1.0% in April. This was the strongest growth since December 2023. Economists had expected an increase of 0.1%.
The production of capital goods fell by 1.0% compared to April, while the production of energy increased by 3%. Production growth was also recorded in the intermediate goods sector (+0.7%) and the consumer goods sector (+0.7%). Meanwhile, in the last three months (through May), industrial production fell by 1.6% compared to the previous three months.
In annual terms, industrial production fell by 3.3% in May after a decline of 3.0% in April (revised from -2.9%). It was the 16th decline in a row. Consensus estimates suggested a reduction of 2.1%. Among the main sectors, growth was recorded only in the energy sector (+2.5%). Production declined in the intermediate goods sector (-1.8%), consumer goods sector (-2.7%) and capital goods sector (-6.4%).