Italian industrial production shrinks

Italian industrial production shrank more than expected in October, appearing to confirm economists fears that Europes third-biggest economy is entering a recession, official figures showed Wednesday.Industrial production dropped 0.9 percent in October from the September level according to seasonally adjusted figures, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said.Production shrank 4.3 percent over 12 months, the biggest yearly drop since December 2009.The results were much worse than economists had expected. According to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires, experts had forecast a 0.4-percent drop for the month and a 1.5-percent drop for the year.The negative figures -- which follow a 4.6 percent drop on a month in September -- fuel fears that the Italian economy has already begun to contract.Junior economy minister Vittorio Grilli warned Sunday that the economy will slip back into recession next year with a forecast contraction of between 0.4 and 0.5 percent of output.