Italy’s industrial orders up, retail sales down in Dec

According to data from Italy’s statistics office Istat, the country’s industrial orders increased at the fastest pace of four months in December on the back of domestic demand. After recording a 1.7% rise in November, industrial sales posted an increase of 2.9% on a monthly basis in December, supported by a rise of 6.8% in domestic demand. However, the country’s industrial orders posted a decrease of 0.9% year-on-year when compared to an increase of 0.1% in November.

Istat data showed that industrial turnover in Italy rose by 2.6% in December on a monthly basis. It posted a larger increase on a yearly basis by 9.4% in December, after a more modest rise of 3.9% in November.

However, the data showed that the country’s retail sales posted a decrease by 0.5% month-on-month in December, albeit at a slower pace than in November when it dropped by 0.7%. Italy’s retail sales were also down on a yearly basis by 0.2% after a rise of 0.8% in November. The rate of drop in December retail sales missed the estimates of an increase of 0.9%.