Italy Industrial Output Unexpectedly Falls 0.6%

(RTTNews) - Italy's industrial production decreased for the second straight month in January, data from the statistical office ISTAT showed on Friday.

Industrial output dropped 0.6 percent month-over-month in January, following a 0.5 percent fall in December. Meanwhile, economists had expected a rebound of 0.3 percent.

The decline was widespread across the main industrial groups, with the exception of energy, the agency said.

Capital goods production fell the most, by 2.2 percent monthly in January, and both consumer and intermediate goods output dropped by 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. On the other hand, energy production grew notably by 4.5 percent.

On a yearly basis, industrial production declined 0.6 percent, reversing a 2.7 percent increase in December. Production was expected to rise by 0.8 percent.