Italian economy grows faster in second quarter

Italy’s gross domestic product rose by 1.1 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, the Istat national statistics agency said Thursday.

The figure -- up from 1.0 percent estimated in late July -- is an improvement on the first three months of the year, when growth was just 0.1 percent.

Growth in the eurozone’s third largest economy was driven by an expansion of industry and services, while agricultural production fell.

Despite soaring energy prices, the Bank of Italy raised its growth forecast for 2022 in mid-July, expecting GDP to increase by 3.2 percent, compared to 2.6 percent previously.

Last year, the economy bounced back from a sharp and deep recession sparked by coronavirus lockdowns in 2020.

But the war in Ukraine, the risk of a winter energy crisis and soaring inflation -- 8.4 percent in August, the highest since 1985 -- all loom large.