Data better but crisis not yet over, says Squinzi
(ANSA) – Rome, December 10 – The latest statistics show Italy’s economy is improving but that does not mean the country is out of crisis, the president of the big-business lobby group Confindustria said Tuesday.
“The descent seems to have diminished, however, we cannot say we are out of the crisis,” Giorgio Squinzi said outside a meeting on tax avoidance.
He spoke after Italy’s national statistical agency Istat reported that gross domestic product (GDP) stopped shrinking in the third quarter.
GDP was unchanged from the previous three months, and down 1.8% from the third quarter of 2012, Istat reported Tuesday.
Squinzi said that the data confirm findings from Confindustria studies which show that the country is still not doing well.
Italian retailers’ group Confescercenti noted that with the “economic situation going from recession to zero growth” a full recovery “is still far off”.
That, in turn, means continued weak consumer confidence and consumption.