Italy: Industrial output remains unchanged in April
Latest reading: Industrial output increased 1.0% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in April (March: 0.0% mom s.a.). The upturn largely reflected improvements in manufacturing production and energy output. That said, mining production growth lost some steam.
On an annual basis, factory output increased 0.1% in April, rebounding from March’s 1.9% fall and marking the best result since January 2023. Accordingly, the trend improved, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 3.2%, up from March’s minus 3.5% reading.
Panelist insight: Commenting on the outlook, ING’s Paolo Pizzoli stated:
“Uncertainty related to developments on the US tariff front remains elevated, and evidence of a possible cyclical recovery is still too soft. […] Whether it picks up from here and at what speed crucially depends on developments in the geopolitical scene. Still, in the short run, a tax incentive scheme expiring by the end of the year might provide a small domestic push to the production of capital goods. Looking further ahead, it seems also plausible that starting from 2026, some traction might be gained through the export channel from the implementation of the German infrastructural plan.”