Financial News: Italian Economy Grows 0.3%, Exceeds Forecast

Italian Economy Grows 0.3%, Exceeds Forecast

(RTTNews) - Italy's economy expanded for the third straight quarter in the three months ending March, preliminary data from the statistical office ISTAT showed on Tuesday.

Gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent sequentially in the first quarter, following a 0.1 percent rise in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, economists had forecast a stable increase of 0.1 percent.

On the demand side, there was a positive contribution from the net foreign component, while a negative contribution came from gross inventories, the agency said.

On a yearly basis, GDP advanced at a slightly slower pace of 0.6 percent versus a 0.7 percent increase in the fourth quarter.

Separate official data showed that the country's consumer price inflation softened to 0.9 percent in April from 1.2 percent in March. Monthly, consumer prices rose 0.2 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes prices of energy and unprocessed food, also moderated somewhat to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent, flash data said.

The annual decline in non-regulated energy goods deepened to 13.9 percent from 10.3 percent, while costs for unprocessed food grew at a slower rate of 2.2 percent.

Inflation, based on the harmonised index of consumer prices, came in at 1.0 percent on the year in April, down from 1.2 percent in March.

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