Weak auto production weighs on Italian industrial output in April

Italian industrial production fell unexpectedly in April, weighed down by a drop in output of motor vehicles and transport.

According to economists at Barclays Research, the data belied the weak underlying tone of the economic expansion, despite the growth spurt seen at the tail-end of 2016.

Industrial production declined by 0.4% month-on-month and was ahead by 1.2% year-on-year, according to ISTAT.

That was significantly weaker than the rise of 0.2% on the month and 2.5% on the year which economists had forecast.

"We believe this is consistent with our view that that the unexpected large upward revision to Q1 GDP (to +0.44% q/q) was due mainly to transitory factors. We continue to expect growth to slow in Q2 to a low 0.3% q/q, with downside risks," said Fabio Fois at Barclays.

Manufacturing output fell by 0.8% month-on-month, as production of autos and transport dropped by 4.7%, subtracting 0.7 percentage points from total industrial production.

In parallel, output in Mining, Electricity, Gas, Water and Sewer declined by 1.1% month-on-month.

By main industrial groups, and in comparison to March, production of investment goods dropped by 1.6%, while that of intermediate goods was 0.4% weaker.

Output of durable consumer goods slipped 0.1% and that of non-durable consumer goods by 0.5%.

Energy output on the other hand increased by 2.2%.