Italy’s growth rate slows in the third quarter

Italy had hoped to see a growth rate of 0.3 percent for the quarter and will need a growth spurt of 0.8-0.9 percent in the final three months of the year for the government to meet its 2015 target of 0.9 percent, Istat, the national statistics agency said.

First quarter growth stood at 0.4 percent, while the second quarter GDP was 0.3 percent.

Still, growth in the third quarter was 0.9 percent higher than in the same quarter of last year and is the highest year-on-year rise since the second quarter of 2011, Istat said.

It was the same story across the eurozone, with figures released on Friday showing that growth across the economic area slowed to just 0.3 percent in the quarter, with Germany also lagging.

The disappointing figures come just days after the OECD raised its forecast for Italy’s economy in 2016 and 2017.

In its economic outlook report published on Monday, the OECD revised its predictions for Italian GDP growth in 2016 and 2017, increasing them both by 0.1 percentage points to 1.4 percent for both years since its last report in September.

The report stated that Italy's economic recovery was “gradually accelerating”.

It was welcome news for an economy which has seen its growth shrink consistently for the last three years. All being well, the final three months of this year will give a brighter glimmer of hope.