The IHS Markit report for Italy showed business sentiment at the weakest in six years and employment growth at the slowest in four years. New orders slid for a fifth month, prompting manufacturers to scale back production. (Filepic shows Italian Lamboghinis)
FRANKFURT: Italy’s manufacturing sector shrank for a third straight month in the latest sign that Europe’s third-largest economy is on the brink of another recession.
IHS Markit’s gauge of factory activity came in at 49.2 for December. While that’s better than the 48.4 forecast by economists, it’s still below 50 -- the dividing line between growth and contraction -- and measures of employment and business confidence worsened.
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