Industrial production in Italy returned to growth
The industrial production in Italy increased by 0.6% in February, which is the strongest growth since June, giving hope that the third largest economy in the euro area this year will come from three years of recession. The increase in factory activity marks a rebound to fall by 0.7% in January, which raised concerns about […]
The industrial production in Italy increased by 0.6% in February, which is the strongest growth since June, giving hope that the third largest economy in the euro area this year will come from three years of recession. The increase in factory activity marks a rebound to fall by 0.7% in January, which raised concerns about the ability of the manufacturing sector in Italy to help rebuild. On an annual basis, however, a decline of 0.2%, as the sectors with the largest decline are extractive industries, textiles and metals, and with the strongest growth were transport, refined petroleum products and pharmaceuticals.
The government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, predicted that Italy will return to growth this year of 0.7%, and that growth will accelerate further in 2016. Most economists attribute the alleged recovery of the Italian economy to external factors – from lower energy prices, which help consumption to the program for the purchase of bonds by the European Central Bank, which weakened the euro in favor of exporters and keeps interest rates low.
