According to the report from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), industrial production fell by 1.0% in April after declining by 0.5% in March. Economists had expected an increase of 0.3%.
The production of capital goods fell by 0.1% compared to March, while the production of intermediate goods decreased by 1.2%. The production of energy decreased by 2.1%, while the production of consumer goods remained unchanged. Meanwhile, in the last three months (through April), industrial production fell by 1.3% compared to the previous three months.
In annual terms, industrial production fell by 2.9% in April after a decline of 3.2% in March (revised from -3.5%). It was the 15th decline in a row. Consensus estimates suggested a reduction of 3.1%. Among the main sectors, the largest drop was recorded in the consumer goods sector (-3,9%). Production also declined in the intermediate goods sector (-2.1%), capital goods sector (-3.1%) and energy sector (-3,6%).