ROME: Italy expanded by 0.3 per cent at the start of the year, its best pace of growth since the second quarter of 2015. The eurozone’s third largest economy, which has suffered a triple dip recession since the financial crisis, expanded at an annual pace of 1 per cent, according to Istat. Growth was driven by a 0.3 per cent increase in consumer spending and a 0.8 per cent rise in investment, compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. Imports grew 1 per cent and exports rose 1.3 per cent in the three months to March.
The moderate pace of expansion comes after the European Central Bank has launched a €80bn-a-month stimulus package, and oil prices have fallen to $50 a barrel since peaking at over $112 in June 2014. But eight years on from the financial crisis, Italy’s economy remains well below its pre-crisis peak. It is not set to eclipse its 2007 size for another decade and still lumbers under a 130 per cent debt mountain, the IMF has warned.
