According to the latest forecasts by Italy’s national statistics office Istat, in 2012 Italian GDP will see a 2.3 percent decline. In the first half of 2012, Italian GDP had declined by 2.1 percent.
In 2013, despite the attenuation of unfavorable conditions and a moderate recovery in economic activity in the second half, the average annual variation in GDP is still expected to be slightly negative, down 0.5 percent.
Istat foresees that Italian economic activity in the second half of 2012 will still be characterized by a declining trend, albeit the decrease rate will be significantly less intense than in the first half. The decrease foreseen for the full year of 2012 will be due to the markedly negative contribution of domestic demand, only partially offset by net exports