Data published by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) showed that industrial production unexpectedly declined in October - by 0.6% after an increase of 0.1% in September. Economists had expected a 0.3% increase.
Meanwhile, in annual terms, the growth of industrial production slowed to 2% compared with 4.5% in September. Economists had expected a 3.3% increase.
The data also showed that from August to September, industrial production increased by 0.6% compared to the previous three-month period.
ISTAT reported that the drop in industrial production in monthly terms was due to a decrease in the production of consumer goods, investment goods and semi-finished products. Meanwhile, energy production increased compared to September.
In annual terms, the growth of industrial production was due to an increase in the production of coke and refined petroleum products (+20.4%), in the woodworking industry (+5.6%), as well as in the food industry (+5.6%). Meanwhile, the decline was recorded in the sector of production of transport equipment (-13.2%) and mining (-7.5%).
The data showed that compared to February 2020 (before the outbreak of the pandemic), industrial production increased by 0.7%.