Italy: Economy grew faster than expected in second quarter

Rome: Italy’s economy grew 1.0% in the second quarter of the year from the previous three months, preliminary data showed, a stronger-than-expected reading and despite the headwinds created by the war in Ukraine.

On a year-on-year basis, second quarter gross domestic product in the euro zone’s third largest economy rose 4.6%, ISTAT said.
Analysts predicted a rise of 0.3% quarter-on-quarter and 3.7% year-on-year.

Friday’s data followed quarterly growth of 0.1% in the first three months of the year and a jump of 6.2% against the same period a year ago. It was the sixth consecutive quarter of growth in Italy.

ISTAT said the industrial and services sectors had both grown, while output in agriculture had declined. “A positive contribution to growth came from the domestic component, while the net foreign component generated a negative contribution,” it added in a statement.