Italy avoided falling into recession in the first three months of the year as revised statistics showed that the economy had expanded, pointing to unexpected resilience ahead of a rebound forecast for the second quarter.
Gross domestic product rose 0.1 per cent in the first quarter compared with the previous one, according to revised data from the office for national statistics, reversing the initial estimates of a 0.4 per cent contraction.
This means that Italy avoided its second technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of output contraction, since the start of the pandemic. GDP shrank in the first half of last year, reflecting tight Covid-19 restrictions.
Italy’s economic performance contrasts with France, where figures last week showed the economy marginally contracted in the first quarter instead of the 0.4 per cent expansion of the first estimates.
Investment rose 3.7 per cent, a “surprisingly strong” reading, said Paolo Pizzoli, senior economist at ING.
The data were a positive surprise for the eurozone’s third-largest economy, said Pizzoli, who added that accelerated reopenings along with a faster vaccination rollout implemented by Prime Minister Mario Draghi “has been paying off”.