Italy left behind as second quarter contraction exceeds estimates
Revisions to Italian GDP have seen the economy shrink faster than expected, decreasing by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter.
Italy is continuing to feel the effects of a two-year long recession, now lasting eight quarters.
Analysts expected no change from the flash estimate put out on the 6th August which predicted a 0.2 per cent decrease in second quarter of 2013, with a 2.0 per cent fall across the year over all (revisions today fell to 2.1 per cent).
Istat, the Italian statistics agency, says:
Compared to the first quarter of 2013, both final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation decreased by 0.3 per cent. Exports increased by 1.2 per cent, while imports decreased by 0.3 per cent.
Whilst the Eurozone saw growth of 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2013, this latest estimate confirms that Italy is being left behind.