ITALY DATA: April Manufacturing PMI: Better Than Feared, But Still Contraction

In contrast to Spain, the Italian manufacturing PMI was stronger-than-expected at 49.3 (vs 47.0 cons, 46.6 prior), the highest since August 2024. However, it’s worth remembering that the PMI has now been in contractionary territory for 24 of the last 25 months.

There was early evidence of tariff uncertainty weighing on demand, but more data will be needed to confirm this trend. As in Spain, output charges rose in April.

Key notes from the release:

• “There was still evidence of weakness in demand for Italian manufactured items in April, linked by panellists to challenging geopolitical and economic conditions”.
• “New export orders were also down again in April, in part reflective of tariff uncertainty, but the trend of contraction also lost momentum compared to March”.
• “Italian manufacturers remained reluctant to raise production volumes in April”.
• “Seventh straight month of job losses at Italian factories in April. Panellists noted that, due to them having spare working capacity, they had opted not to replace leavers”.
• “Goods producers in Italy faced a further rise in input costs in April, linked most commonly to increased raw material prices”…“ efforts to shield margins saw manufacturers raise their charges for a second successive month in April”.
• “New customer wins and hopes that market conditions will improve fuelled positive sentiment”.