Italian manufacturing contracts in December at fastest rate since March, PMI shows
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Employees work at a ceramics factory where the workers start their shifts before dawn to optimise sunlight and save energy, in Citta di Castello, Italy, August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
ROME, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Italy's manufacturing sector slipped back into contraction in December, a survey showed on Friday, hit by a decline in output and new orders.
The Italian HCOB Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 47.9 from November's 50.6, sliding back below the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction. The result was well below a median forecast of 50.0 in a Reuters poll of eight analysts.
"The latest reading marks the steepest deterioration in operating conditions since March, abruptly ending the brief growth spurt seen in the previous month," said Nils Muller, an economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank AG.
"The downturn was driven primarily by renewed declines in output and new orders, both of which contracted at the fastest pace in nine months," he added.
The subindex for new orders stood at 47.0, down sharply from 51.6 in November, while output dropped to 46.8 from 50.3.
Italian manufacturing has been in the doldrums since early 2023. Industrial output fell 1% in October from the month before, statistics bureau ISTAT reported last month, in a renewed sign of weakness for the sector.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government is forecasting economic growth of 0.7% for 2026 after an estimated 0.5% rate last year.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Gavin Jones and Hugh Lawson)
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