Italy's industrial production increases by 1.6 pct in 2016

Italy's industrial production posted a 1.6 percent annual growth in 2016, official data showed on Friday.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the country's industrial production rose 1.4 percent month on month in December 2016, an unexpected growth compared with the revised 0.8 percent growth on monthly basis in November.

The production also rose by 6.6 percent (calendar adjusted) in December 2016 compared with Dec. 2015, which marked the highest increase since Aug. 2011.

And the industrial output rose by 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 over the previous quarter, when the production grew by 1.2 percent, according to ISTAT.

The growth was registered in most of the industrial sectors, including intermediate goods up 2 percent, consumer goods 1.5 percent, instrumental goods 1.2 percent, and to a lesser degree, energy 0.7 percent.

The unexpected industrial performance in December might now positively impact the gross domestic product (GDP) forecast, according to Italy's leading business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.

The Italian government forecast a 0.8 percent GDP increase for the whole 2016, but the latest data would possibly boost the final annual growth up to 1 percent, the daily wrote.

The country's GDP grew by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2016, and by 0.1 percent in the second quarter.

ISTAT's preliminary data on the GDP in the fourth quarter are expected on Tuesday. Enditem