Italy’s economy grew 0.3% month-on-month and 0.7% year-on-year in Q1, and the GDP carry-over for this year is 0.6% according to official statistics.

The growth was bolstered by household consumption and investments, contributing 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively, whilst the public administration expenditure contribution was zero.

Furthermore, there was a significant decline in imports during the quarter, dropping by 1.7%, alongside a rise in exports of goods and services, which increased by 0.6%.

The seasonally adjusted Italian industrial production index showed a month-on-month increase in May, breaking the downward trend observed in the previous two months, according to the statistics.

However, the average production index from March to May declined by 1.6% compared to the previous three months. This slowdown was evident across all major industry sectors, except for the energy sector, which saw a slight increase of 0.1%, while capital goods experienced a significant drop of 3.2%.

Although trade in goods by value rose between February and April compared to the prior three months, the trend remained weak relative to the previous year.

Between March and May, employment levels rose by an average of 0.6%, with increases seen among permanent employees, self-employed workers, both genders, and all age groups, except for those aged 25-34.

In May, the employment rate was 62.2%, down by 0.1 percentage points from April.

Moreover, inflation in Italy remained below 1%, the lowest among euro area nations. 

The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) increased by 0.9% year-on-year in the first six months of this year, which is 1.6 percentage points lower than the euro area average.

In addition, in June, business confidence declined for the third straight month, while consumer confidence showed improvement across all components of the index.

Goods trade continues to be sluggish, especially with the European Union, according to the official statistics agency.

Since the start of the year, exports of goods have experienced moderate growth. In the first four months of 2024 the year-on-year increase in value was 0.3%, with direct sales to non-EU markets rising by 2.3%, while exports to EU countries fell by 1.4%.