By Liam Moloney
ROME--Italian industrial orders fell in January pulled lower by
foreign demand, reversing a strong climb in the previous month.
Industrial orders fell 3.6% on the month, reversing a 4.5% gain
in December, national statistics institute Istat said Friday, using
seasonally adjusted data. Foreign orders shed 9.0% from December,
while domestic ones rose 0.7%.
Orders were 5.5% lower on the year in unadjusted terms, Istat
added. Orders are a proxy for future industrial output, a key
metric for Italy, which has Europe's second-largest manufacturing
sector after Germany.
"Orders are lower after a very strong December; these are
numbers can be very volatile," said an Istat official. "All you
need is an order for a ship, a plane or helicopters to make the
difference."
Industrial sales decreased 1.6% on the month in seasonally
adjusted terms, with a 3.1% fall in foreign demand, Istat said.
Sales were 2.5% off on the year in workday-adjusted terms, led
by a 3.7% decline in domestic demand, according to Istat.
Write to Liam Moloney at liam.moloney@wsj.com