According to the report from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), industrial production fell by 0.7% in May after increasing by 0.9% in April (revised from +1%). This was the sharpest drop since February. Economists had expected production to remain unchanged.
The production of energy increased by 0.7% compared to April, while the production in the intermediate goods sector fell by 1.0%. A decrease was also recorded in the consumer goods sector (-1.3%). Meanwhile, production in the capital goods sector remained unchanged.
In annual terms, industrial production fell by 0.9% in May after rising by 0.1% in April (revised from +0.2%). Consensus estimates suggested growth of 0.2%. Among the main sectors, the production growth was recorded only in the energy sector (+5.3%). Meanwhile, production decreased in the capital goods sector (-0.2%), consumer goods sector (-1.8%) and in the intermediate goods sector (-2.7%).
According to ISTAT, Italy's GDP is forecast to grow by 0.6% in 2025 and 0.8% in 2026. This follows a 0.7% increase in GDP over the previous two years. The growth is primarily driven by domestic demand, while net foreign demand is expected to have a negative impact.