According to ISTAT, Italy's national statistics office, in May this year the seasonally adjusted index of Italian industrial production increased by 0.8 percent compared to April, and was down 6.9 percent compared to May 2011 when adjusted for calendar effects.
Meanwhile, in the March-May quarter Italy's industrial production decreased by an average of 1.9 percent compared to the previous three-month period. Moreover, in the first five months of 2012 the average industrial output index was down 6.7 compared to the same period of 2011.
In Italy, the index of metal and metal products production (except equipment and machinery) rose by 1.7 percent in May compared to April, while it was down two percent in the March-May quarter compared to the preceding three-month period. On year-on-year basis, the index decreased by 8.4 percent in May and by 7.8 percent in January-May.