IMF slashes forecast for Italy's economic growth in 2023

ROME, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that it expects Italy's gross domestic product to grow 0.7 percent this year, down from its previous estimate in May of 1.1 percent growth for 2023 as a whole.

The IMF estimate for Italy is lower than that from the Italian government's budget office and from the European Central Bank (ECB), which forecast Italy's economy this year would grow 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The weaker economic growth model for Italy comes amid the release of mixed economic indicators.

Also on Tuesday, Italy's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said that the country's industrial production in August was down by 4.2 percent compared to the same month in 2022.

Commercial activity was also lower in August, though employment levels strengthened over the same period, ISTAT said. Consumer price index in September were 5.3 percent higher than in the year-ago period.

According to the IMF models, the slowdown will extend into 2024. It predicts a 0.7-percent growth for next year as well, down from 0.9 percent in its previous report. That estimate is weaker than ECB's prediction of 0.8 percent next year.

The Italian economy grew by 0.6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter, more than the overall eurozone's growth for the same period. But that relatively strong quarter was sandwiched between two quarters of negative economic growth.