• Istat: "zero growth" GDP for the second quarter of 2019
  • Istat, unemployment drops to its lowest level since 2012: 9.7%
  • Istat: industry turnover grows in May + 1.6%

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05 August 2019The Italian economy recovered slightly in the second half of the year. "The leading indicator has interrupted the downward trend in place since the end of last year, suggesting a scenario of slight improvement in production levels", writes Istat, in the monthly note on the performance of the Italian economy.

"The outlook for international trade, penalized by the continuation of commercial tensions and the slowdown in economic activity in China, remains negative", continues Istat. According to the preliminary estimate, in the second quarter of 2019, the Italian GDP has registered a cyclical change with no synthesis of a decrease in the added value of the industry and of a contained increase in that of services.

In June, the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production, after the large increase in May, decreased marginally in economic terms. Following the positive evolution in the first part of the year, in June employment showed a stabilization and the unemployment rate decreased further, although not reducing the gap with the average of the euro area. Driven by the downturn in energy assets, in July inflation continued to slow down and the negative differential with consumer price developments in the euro area and in the main European partners widened. In July, the consumer confidence climate index showed a marked increase, spread to all components. The recovery of trust has also involved companies with the exception of manufacturing companies.