Italy recession nears the end
ITALY’S economy shrank by less than expected in the second quarter of the year, adding to recent signs that the country’s longest post war recession could be bottoming out.
GDP fell 0.2 per cent following a 0.6 per cent contraction in the first three months, and dropped two per cent on an annual basis, national stats bureau Istat said yesterday.
The figures marked the eighth consecutive quarter of contraction.
Istat gave no numerical breakdown of GDP components with its preliminary estimate, saying only that activity had contracted in all the main sectors: industry, services and agriculture.