Garment Factory in Verona, Italy▶ Click here for a larger view
The Italian economy recorded negative growth in the first quarter due to the aftermath of the Ukraine war. The Italian Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT) announced on the 29th (local time) that the first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.2% (seasonally adjusted, provisional) compared to the previous quarter.
It is the first time since the fourth quarter of 2020 that economic growth slowed on a quarterly basis.
This is due to the overlapping of negative factors such as the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), inflation, and the war in Ukraine. In general, domestic demand was good, but foreign trade was sluggish, ISTAT analyzed.
However, the growth rate in the first quarter was slightly better than the figure originally projected by the Italian government (-0.5%). In addition, this is an increase of 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year, when economic activity contracted significantly due to the spread of COVID-19.
The final growth rate for the first quarter will be announced at the end of next month.
In light of the current global economic situation, the outlook for annual growth rates is also very bleak.
The Italian government recently revised its growth forecast for this year to 3.1%. This is a significant reduction from the 4.7% released in September last year.
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