Italy’s industrial production declined by 0.6% month-on-month in January 2026, following a 0.5% drop in December and defying market expectations of a 0.3% increase. This was the second consecutive monthly contraction, driven by weaker output in capital goods (-2.2% vs +0.7% in December), intermediate goods (-0.8% vs -0.2%), and consumer goods (-0.6% vs -0.7%). In contrast, energy production strengthened markedly, with growth accelerating to 4.5% from 0.2% in the previous month.
On a year-on-year basis, industrial output fell by 0.6% in January, reversing a 2.7% increase recorded in December. The annual decline reflected lower production of consumer goods (-3.8%), intermediate goods (-1.6%), and capital goods (-0.3%), which more than offset a robust 10.4% surge in energy output. The steepest contractions were registered in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-12.9%), chemical products (-7.2%), and other manufacturing industries (-5.7%).
