Roundup: Italy's industrial production decreases 0.3 pct in November: ISTAT

ROME, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Industrial production in Italy decreased slightly in November amid high inflation, Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) reported recently.

According to ISTAT's report on Friday, industrial production, a key component in economic growth calculations, was down by 0.3 percent in November compared with October and down by 3.7 percent compared to the same month a year earlier.

ISTAT said that the production of energy-related products, was down by 16.2 percent compared with the same month a year ago, consumer goods down by 2.6 percent, and intermedia goods down by 5.2 percent. Only the production of capital goods saw an increase by a modest 1.8 percent.

"The negative trend extended to almost all sectors, with the exception of capital goods, which recorded a positive profile over the last five months even if they saw a progressive deceleration," ISTAT said in a statement.

At the end of the year, the official unemployment rate was stable at 7.8 percent, but that was amid a decrease in employed workers over the previous month and a corresponding increase in the number of inactive workers.

The inflation rate in December was 11.6 percent compared to the same month in 2021, according to preliminary data from ISTAT. That is slightly better than the 11.8-percent rate from October and November, ISTAT said.

But 2022 still saw record-setting inflation sparked by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which set energy prices upward, reduced the global supply of wheat and other grains, and disrupted global supply networks.

The nine highest year-on-year inflation rates in Italy since the creation of the euro currency zone in 1999 all took place over the last nine months in 2022, including the last three months of 2022 that saw double-digit inflation rates.

But the economic news from ISTAT was not all negative. Despite the worsening economic indicators, the institute reported that consumer and business confidence finished the year on the rise, as individuals and companies believed the worst economic news was in the past.

"Households highlighted positive expectations related to the country's economic situation, including unemployment, while assessments and expectations among businesses improved in construction and market services sectors," ISTAT said.