ROME, May 4 (Reuters) – Cost pressures in Italy’s manufacturing sector hit their highest level in almost four years in April, fuelled by the conflict in the Middle East, a survey showed on Monday.
The measure of input cost inflation in the Italian HCOB Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) accelerated to 75.4 from 69.0 in March, marking the highest reading since May 2022.
The headline PMI, a broader gauge of manufacturing activity, rose to 52.1 from March’s 51.3, climbing further above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, driven up by an increase in output.
“There were mixed trends beneath the headline index,” S&P Global said in its report, with positive signs regarding output and employment, but delivery delays and cost inflation becoming more acute as supply chain disruption worsened.
“While stronger cost pressures were felt by the majority of firms, they showed a greater degree of constraint in their own price setting – a sign that margins will be squeezed,” said S&P Global economist Eleanor Dennison.
Italian consumer price inflation jumped to 2.9% in April, preliminary data showed last week, as energy costs surged.
Giorgia Meloni’s government last month cut its economic growth outlook to 0.6% for this year and next from previous targets of 0.7% and 0.8% respectively.
The government forecast a 0.8% growth rate for 2028, which would mark six consecutive years of sub-1% growth.
(Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Gavin Jones and Hugh Lawson)
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