According to ISTAT, Italy's national statistics office, in April this year the seasonally adjusted index of Italian industrial production decreased by 1.9 percent compared to March, while it was down 9.2 percent compared to April 2011 when we consider the data adjusted for calendar effects.
Meanwhile, in the quarter which ended in April Italy's industrial production decreased by 2.5 percent compared to the preceding three-month period. Moreover, in the first four months of 2012 the average index decrease was 9.2 percent compared to the same period of 2011.
The Italian index of metal and metal products production (except equipment and machinery) fell 3.1 percent in April compared to March and by 1.8 percent in the February-April quarter compared to the preceding quarter. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the respective decreases in April and in January-April were 12.1 percent and 7.4 percent.