The economic outlook for what is Europe's fourth-biggest economy is dimming by the day, as imports continued to outpace exports in the third quarter and as the pace of consumer spending growth slackened in Q3 2007.
Italian production of consumer goods dropped 0.1 percent in October, according to the detailed breakdown of today's data. Manufacturing of non-durable goods such as clothing fell 0.1 percent. Durable goods, which include washing machines and refrigerators, declined 0.2 percent.
