The Bank of Italy said on Friday
that it estimates that Italy's growth was flat in the third
quarter of 2019 with respect to the second.
GDP was up 0.1% in the second quarter.
The central bank said that Italy is projected to have zero
growth for 2019 as a whole too.
The Bank of Italy said that the government's budget for 2020
is "slightly expansive" as it averts a VAT hike set to kick in
next year and "other measures" designed to boost growth
The new U.S. tariffs on EU products may have a major impact
on the Italian economy even though they affect "a relatively
limited quota of Italian exports to the United States", the Bank
of Italy said.
The bank said that around 400 million euros worth of Italian
exports are affected, but also sounded the alarm about the
"indirect effect" of the tariffs.
It said that "foreign demand" for Italy's State bonds
registered a "strong increase between August and June".
It cited the European Commission's decision not to open an
infringement procedure against Italy over its budget plans.
It said 81 billion euros worth of State bonds were bought by
foreign investors in the first eight months of the year.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
