In April this year, Italian industrial production dipped by 0.6 percent compared to March, while it had been forecast to rise by 0.4 percent month on month, according to the flash estimates of Confindustria, the main organization representing Italian manufacturing and services companies. The pre-crisis peak (April 2008) is still 21.9 percent higher than the current level, while industrial production has recovered by 5.7 percent compared to its lowest point during the financial crisis (March 2009).
Also according to the flash estimates, in Q1 2012 Italian industrial production was down 2.2 percent quarter on quarter.
Forecasts for Q2 2012 are not positive, as shown by the latest confidence indicators provided by Istat, Italy's national statistics office, for the manufacturing sector.