ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s manufacturing sector contracted in January for a tenth straight month but at a significantly slower pace than at the end of last year, a survey showed on Thursday, in a sign that the worst of the downturn may be over.
The HCOB Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Italian manufacturing rose last month to 48.5 from 45.3 in December, still below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction but the highest reading since March last year.
The result was above a median forecast of 47.3 in a Reuters survey of 16 analysts.
“Things are brightening up in Italy’s industry,” said HCOB economist Tariq Kamal Chaudhry, who nonetheless cautioned against enthusiasm given the sector remained in recession.
“In spite of a general shortage of skilled workers, employment shrunk, inventories of manufactured products are decreasing, and purchasing volumes are declining,” he said.
The manufacturing output sub-index climbed to 49.2 from a previous 45.4, while the new orders score rose to 46.6 from 41.4, both remaining in the sub-50 territory indicating contraction.
Italian gross domestic product edged up by 0.2% in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, preliminary data showed on Tuesday, following a 0.1% uptick between July and September.
(Reporting By Gavin Jones; editing by Christina Fincher)
