The Italian manufacturing sector registered its fastest decline in factory output since the height of pandemic lockdowns in 2020 during September as a sustained downturn in order book volumes, driven by a combination of inflationary pressures and heightened uncertainty, weighed heavily on production trends. The survey's price indices signalled a fresh acceleration of inflationary pressures amid surging energy and material costs which were subsequently being passed through to clients. Looking ahead, although firms on average expect output to be higher in 12-months’ time, sentiment dropped to the second lowest on ... (full story)