Italian industrial production was much lower than expected, down 3.4% from the previous month, after falling 1.1% in December.
Analysts did not expect any change.
The drop in output, the biggest monthly drop since September 2020, marks a very weak start to the year, ahead of energy turmoil and the war in Ukraine.
December data were revised slightly down from the initially announced 1% drop.
On a calendar-year-on-year basis, industrial production fell 2.6% in January, Istat said.
On a quarterly basis, there was a drop of 0.5%.
Also in January, the adjusted level of industrial production was 1.9% lower than the level of February 2020, before the pandemic hit the Italian economy.
The economy grew 6.6% in 2001, according to data released last week, following a record 9% contraction in 2020.
For this year, the March Draghi government officially forecasts GDP growth of 4.7%.
Source: Capital
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