Italy Industrial Production Falls For First Time In 3 Months

(RTTNews) - Italy's industrial production declined for the first time in three months in May, the statistical office ISTAT reported Thursday.

Industrial output dropped 0.7 percent month-on-month in May, in contrast to the 0.9 percent rise in April. The fall was also worse than economists' forecast of -0.2 percent.

Production of energy grew 0.7 percent, while output fell 1.0 percent for intermediate goods and 1.3 percent for consumer goods. At the same time, capital goods output remained flat. Compared to last year, calendar-adjusted industrial production logged a decline of 0.9 percent, reversing a 0.1 percent rise in April.

On an unadjusted basis, the decline in industrial output deepened to 3.8 percent from 1.4 percent in the previous month.