Italy’s growth jumps in Q3 2020

Italy’s economy, which plunged into recession by the coronavirus outbreak, returned to growth in the 3rd quarter as gross domestic product (GDP) jumped 15.9% on the previous quarter, the national statistics agency estimated Tuesday, December 1.

This is a slight downgrade on the initial estimate of 16.1% made by Istat in late October.

While the economy rebounded strongly from the spring, when many businesses were closed, economic output was still 5% smaller than during the 3rd quarter of 2019.

In the first 9 months of the year, GDP in the eurozone’s 3rd largest economy fell by 8.3%.

“The full estimate of the quarterly economic accounts confirms that the Italian economy, after a sharp contraction in the 1st quarter caused by the effects of the health crisis, recorded a substantial recovery in the 3rd quarter,” Istat said.

It said the recovery was spread across all sectors of the economy.

Italy was the first country in Europe to be hit by the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year, which sparked a nationwide shutdown.

As a result, Italy suffered its worst recession since World War II and GDP is expected to fall this year between 9% and 11.5%.

Cases of COVID-19 fell over the summer but a surge in recent months has taken the death toll to more than 55,000, and sparked new restrictions that risk again hitting growth. – Rappler.com