Italy: Industrial production returns to growth in September
Latest reading: Industrial production rose 2.8% in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms in September, following a 2.7% fall in the prior month and marked the strongest result in more than three years.
Relative to the previous month’s data, readings in September improved for manufacturing (+1.4% in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms vs -1.9% in August), mining and quarrying (+12.0% vs -8.7% in August) and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (+5.4% vs -0.7% in August).
On a year-on-year basis, industrial production was up 1.3% in September, following a 2.8% fall in the previous month.
Panelist insight: Commenting on the outlook, ING’s Paolo Pizzoli stated:
“Overall, September’s industrial production data was clearly positive, yet it still indicates that the sector is struggling to drive stronger economic growth. This applies to the third quarter, when, according to preliminary Istat data, services had to bear the burden of growth. The picture might only marginally change over the fourth quarter, when we are currently anticipating a small improvement in industrial activity, which would be consistent with a small positive reading for Italian GDP growth.”