Italian manufacturing contracts for second straight month in January, PMI shows

ROME, Feb 2 (Reuters) - ⁠Italy's manufacturing ⁠sector ‍contracted for a second month running in January, albeit at a marginally slower ‍pace than in December, a survey showed on ​Monday, offering little prospect of any near-term economic rebound.

The ​Italian HCOB Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged up to 48.1 from December's 47.9, in line with a median forecast in ​a Reuters poll of six analysts and remaining below the 50 mark that separates ​growth from contraction.

Hamburg Commercial Bank AG economist Nils Muller saw positive signs ‌in some of the survey's components.

"The softer falls in both output and new ​orders suggest that the intense ⁠weakness seen late last year may be easing," he said.

The new orders sub-index ‌stood at 47.4 and output at 47.1, up from respectively 47.0 and 46.8 in December.

The employment indicator ‌pointed to expansion for the first time in four months, ‌rising significantly to 50.6 from 48.2.

The euro zone's third-largest economy grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of last ‍year from the previous three months, slightly firmer than expected, ISTAT reported on ⁠Friday.

Italy's government has a full-year growth target of 0.7% for this year after an estimated 0.5% rate in 2025.

(Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Gavin Jones and Toby Chopra)

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