Italy's manufacturing downturn eases in April, PMI shows

ROME (Reuters) -Italy's long-running manufacturing contraction eased greatly in April, a survey showed on Friday, offering some hope of recovery despite the widespread uncertainty linked to U.S. trade policy.

The HCOB Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing rose to 49.3 in April from 46.6 in March, marking the 13th straight month below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction but still coming in well above expectations.

A Reuters survey of 13 analysts had pointed to a reading of 47.0.

The sub-indexes for new orders and output each came in just below the 50 mark, at 49.1 and 49.9 respectively, with both pointing to a far slower rate of contraction than the month before.

HCOB Chief Economist Cyrus de la Rubia said the survey "appears to indicate stabilisation", adding that manufacturing growth "is once again within the realm of possibility" despite global trade tensions triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

The euro zone's third-largest economy expanded by 0.3% in the first quarter from the previous three months, according to preliminary gross domestic product data issued on Wednesday by national statistics bureau ISTAT.

The data was slightly firmer than expected after Giorgia Meloni's government last month halved its full-year 2025 growth forecast to 0.6%.

That would be broadly in line with the 0.7% growth rates recorded by Italy in both 2024 and 2023.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Hugh Lawson)