Italian Industrial Output Falls in Slowdown Sign for New Leaders

Italian industrial production declined far more than expected in April, adding to signs of a slowdown in economic growth just as the new government tries to reassure investors on the country’s outlook.

Output decreased 1.2 percent from March, when it rose 1.2 percent, national statistics institute Istat said in Rome on Monday. Economists had predicted it would fall 0.5 percent in April, according to the median of 18 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. From a year earlier, work-day adjusted industrial output rose 1.9 percent.