According to the report from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), industrial production declined by 0.5% in March after stabilizing in February (revised from +0.1%). Economists had expected an increase of 0.3%. The production of capital goods fell by 3.8% compared to February, while the production of consumer goods decreased by 0.6%. The production of intermediate goods fell by 0.1% m/m, and production of energy increased by 1.7% m/m. Meanwhile, in the last three months (through March), industrial production fell by 1.3% compared to the previous three months.
In annual terms, industrial production fell by 3.5% in March after a decline of 3.3% in February (revised from -3.1%). It was the 14th decline in a row. Consensus estimates suggested a reduction of 1.4%.
Among the main sectors, the largest drop was recorded in the capital goods sector (-5.7%). Production also declined in the consumer goods sector (-4.6%), intermediate goods sector (-1.8%) and energy sector (-0,1%).
Italy’s economy has been struggling with high interest rates and a weakening in the economies of its main trading partners, particularly Germany. The central bank has a growth forecast of 0.6% for 2024, much lower than the government’s 1% prediction.