According to ISTAT, Italy's national statistics office, in July this year the seasonally adjusted index of Italian industrial production decreased by 0.2 percent compared to June and was down 7.3 percent compared to July 2011 when the data is adjusted for calendar effects.
Meanwhile, in the May-July quarter of the current year Italy's industrial production decreased by 1.2 percent compared to the preceding three-month period. Moreover, in the first seven months of 2012 the index was down seven percent compared to the same period of 2011.
In addition, the Italian index for metal and metal products production (except equipment and machinery) fell 1.2 percent in July compared to June, while it was down 1.3 percent in the May-July quarter compared to the February-April quarter. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the index decreased by 9.3 percent in July and was down 7.9 percent in January-July.