Italy: Weak start to Q4 for the industrial sector
Industrial output dropped 0.3% in October on a month-on-month, seasonally-adjusted basis, following September’s 0.4% decrease.
October’s dip largely reflected a downturn in the manufacturing sector and a sharper contraction in the production of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning more than offsetting a turnaround in the mining and quarrying sector. Within the important manufacturing sector, the largest contractions were recorded in the production of machinery and equipment, coke and oil products and in the manufacturing of transport equipment.
On an annual basis, industrial production shrank 2.4% in October in calendar-adjusted terms, following September’s 2.2% drop. Meanwhile, annual the average variation in industrial output declined from minus 1.4% in September to minus 1.7% in October, the lowest reading in over five years.