After four consecutive increases, Italian industrial orders dropped sharply in January. On a monthly basis, industrial orders fell by 2.8% M/M, while only a slight decline was expected. Both domestic (-3.1% M/M) and, foreign (-2.3% M/M) new orders fell in January. Italian industrial sales, on the contrary, rose by 2.7% M/M in January, the third straight increase. The improvement in sales was led by domestic (3.1% M/M), but also foreign sales (1.9% M/M) increased.