Italian industrial orders slip in April

Italian industrial orders slipped in April, with demand from abroad weakest.

Total industrial orders in the euro area's third-largest economy fell by 1.0% month-on-month in April, according to ISTAT, and were 2.2% lower versus a year ago.

Orders from overseas were weakest, shrinking by 1.0% while domestic ones dropped by 0.4%.

Sales also fell, by 0.5% in comparison to March, with foreign sales 1.9% lower and domestic ones up 2.2%.

By industrial groups, sales of consumer goods were 0.9% higher on the month (durable: -1.5%, non-durable: 1.5%), those for intermediate goods declined by 2.2% and those for capital goods by 1.6%.

Energy on the other hand saw a sharp 7.4% increase versus the previous month.