Italy

Instability and uncertainty: these are the terms that best describe the national challenge and, consequently, the sentiment among non-ferrous metals operators. The prospects are not rosy: heart-pounding quotes from the LME on a daily basis are coupled with the ongoing government crisis. In this regard, Istat has recently confirmed its preliminary inflation estimate for June: the acceleration to 8% represents the highest rate recorded since January 1986 (when it reached 8.2%).

Industrial production was lower in May, as expected, but increased on average in the second quarter when compared to the -0.7% of the first three months of 2022. While slowing in the first half of this year, the trend is considerably higher than that recorded by Germany and France.

Italy’s industrial enterprises always show resilience. We do not want to think that the return to political instability and the failure to achieve the objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan will weaken investor confidence since we need operators who play a leading role in the Italian debt market on the path towards the normalization of monetary policy outlined by the European Central Bank.

In effect, this summer is hotter than ever.