Italy: Industrial production rebounds sharply in May
Industrial output rebounded and skyrocketed 42.1% in May on a month-on-month, seasonally-adjusted basis. The reading followed April’s 20.5% slump and marked the strongest expansion on record.
May’s bounce back reflected an almost 50% surge in manufacturing production; a marked jump in the mining and quarrying sector; and more moderate growth in the utilities sector. Within the all-important manufacturing sector, the largest increases were recorded in the production of means of transport and textiles, whose production more than doubled compared to the previous month.
On an annual basis, industrial production slumped 20.3% in May in calendar-adjusted terms, following April’s 43.4’s collapse which had marked the worst reading in the history of the index. Meanwhile, the annual average variation in industrial production declined from minus 7.3% in April to minus 8.9% in May, the lowest reading in over 10 years.