The Italian economy contracted marginally in the final quarter of 2022, largely due to weaker domestic demand, as initially estimated, the latest data from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday, triggering fears of a mild recession.
Gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, reversing a revised 0.4 percent rise in the third quarter. That was in line with the flash data published on January 31.
Further, the economy contracted for the first time since early 2021.?
On the expenditure side, final consumption expenditure of households fell 1.6 percent, while government consumption grew 0.5 percent.
Gross fixed capital formation showed a positive quarterly growth of 2.0 percent. Exports rose 2.6 percent, while imports dropped by 1.7 percent.
On a yearly basis, GDP growth slowed to 1.4 percent in the December quarter from 2.5 percent in the ?September quarter. In the flash report, the rate of expansion for the fourth quarter was 1.7 percent.
