Italy Slips Into Recession In Q1
ROME (dpa-AFX) - Italy s economy re-entered a recession in the first quarter, preliminary data from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday.
Gross domestic product fell 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, but slower than the 1.8 percent decrease seen in the fourth quarter.
With the second consecutive contraction after a sharp growth in the third quarter of 2020, the economy slipped into a technical recession amid the restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
As vaccination progress allows more easing of restrictions across Italy, GDP growth is expected to turn positive in the second quarter and accelerate after that when the impact of inflowing EU Recovery funds will also come into play, Paolo Pizzoli, an ING economist, said.
1/27/2021 6:24:11 AM GMT | By Dhwani Mehta
The Italian “Prime Minister Conte’s resignation opens a new phase, where the master of the game will be President Mattarella,” Paolo Pizzoli, Senior Economist at ING Bank noted.
Key quotes
“President Mattarella accepted his resignation, and asked him to stay for current affairs, as it normally happens.’
“We see three main options ahead. The first option which might be explored is that of a new mandate for a Conte 3.0 government.”
“We suspect that this solution would aim at coopting a new group of “willing” MPs form the ranks of pro-European moderates in the opposition under a common flag to expand the majority, but could hardly do without the support of Renzi’s Italia Viva.“