ROME: Italy has witnessed 14th consecutive quarter without any growth. Economy stagnated at the end of 2014, as an increase in exports was offset by weak domestic demand.
Italy has been the euro zone’s most sluggish economy for over a decade and is widely forecast to continue to lag its peers, even though it is expected to see a return to modest growth this year for the first time since 2011.
Gross domestic product was unchanged quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter following a 0.1 contraction in the third, and dropped 0.3 percent on an annual basis, national statistics bureau ISTAT reported.
That just beat an average forecast of a 0.1 percent fall quarter-on-quarter, down 0.4 percent annually, in a Reuters survey of analysts.
Over the whole of 2014, GDP fell 0.4 percent on a work-day adjusted basis, the third consecutive decline after contractions of 1.9 percent in 2013 and 2.3 percent in 2012.
Earlier on Friday, Germany reported a strong 0.7 percent quarterly GDP rise for the fourth quarter, while French GDP edged up 0.1 percent.
The expected Italian pick up is seen driven by favorable external developments — the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program, which will keep interest rates low; the depreciation of the euro, which will help exports; and the plunge in oil prices which cuts energy costs for firms and families.
