Italian Industrial Output Increased in July Less Than Economists Forecast

Italian industrial output rose less than economists forecast in July as domestic demand remained weak during the country’s export-led economic recovery.

Production climbed 0.1 percent from June, when it rose a revised 0.5 percent, Rome-based statistics office Istat said today. Economists had forecast a 0.5 percent increase in July, according to the median of 21 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

The gain in Italian production mirrored an increase in Europe’s largest economy. German output rose 0.1 in July, the country’s Economy Ministry said on Sept. 8.

Italian business confidence rose to its highest in more than two years last month as executives grew more optimistic about exports, the Rome-based research center Isae said on Aug. 31. Industrial orders surged in May, signaling that the recovery in the euro region’s third-biggest economy is supported by foreign demand.

Brembo SpA Chief Executive Officer Alberto Bombassei said in a Sept. 3 interview that 2010 results will be better than expected as the company benefits from the German recovery. The world’s largest manufacturer of disk brakes was included in Ford Motor Co.’s “preferred supplier list,” the Italian company said last week.

Italian industrial production gained 4.8 percent in July from a year earlier, Istat said today. The institute initially reported a monthly increase of 0.6 percent in June.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at ltotaro@bloomberg.net

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