- Prior 50.9
Much like the rest of the region, Italian manufacturing slumped into contraction territory in July as a sharp drop in factory production weighed. Expectations towards the year ahead outlook for output was also heavily subdued and business confidence dropped to its third-weakest on record. S&P Global notes that:
"Italy's manufacturing sector faced further challenges in July, as the health of the sector deteriorated for the first time since June 2020 amid a renewed fall in factory production and the sharpest drop in new orders since the height of COVID-19 containment measures in April 2020. "The weaker performance also saw firms pare back on input buying, which did help to temper supply issues slightly but, amid reports that weak sales had left items unsold, stocks of finished goods rose noticeably.
"The main positives from the July data were an easing of inflationary pressures, though the rates of both input cost and charge inflation remained marked by historical standards. "The challenging business environment, combined with concerns around the war in Ukraine, and near-term economic outlook were reflected in a notably subdued level of business confidence amongst Italian goods producers, with sentiment amongst the weakest on record."
