ROME: Italy’s industrial production dropped unexpectedly in April, figures from the statistical office Istat showed.
Industrial output declined 0.4 percent month-on-month in April, offsetting the 0.4 percent rise in March. This was the first fall in three months and came in contrast to the 0.2 percent rise economists had forecast.
On a yearly basis, industrial production climbed by calendar adjusted 1 percent, slower than the 2.9 percent increase in the previous month. Output was forecast to grow 2.5 percent.
Although the output logged expansion for three straight months, this was the weakest in the current sequence of growth.
On an unadjusted basis, industrial output fell 6.5 percent annually, in contrast to March’s 7.7 percent increase.
