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Surprise rise in Italian output
Italian industrial output unexpectedly rose 0.5 per cent in March, official data showed yesterday, but first quarter output was still down for the third quarter running, confirming the economy remains mired in recession. The March data beat a forecast of a 0.2 per cent output drop, but analysts said first quarter GDP, published next week, would probably be broadly in line with the 0.7 per cent drop seen at the end of 2011. The 2.1 per cent decline in output between January and March reported by national statistics bureau ISTAT followed a 2.5 per cent fall in the fourth quarter of 2011 and was the third consecutive quarterly contraction.