Italian GDP Grows 0.3% In Q1

(RTTNews) - Italy's economy expanded for the second straight quarter in the three months ending in March, and at a faster-than-expected pace, preliminary data from the statistical office ISTAT showed on Wednesday.

Gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent sequentially in the first quarter, following a 0.2 percent rise in the second quarter. Meanwhile, economists had expected the growth to remain stable at 0.2 percent.

On the production side, there was an increase of value added in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and industry, while services showed a stagnant change.

The expenditure breakdown showed that the domestic component contributed positively, but the export component side was negative due to an unfavorable net export component.

The annual growth in GDP accelerated slightly to 0.6 percent from 0.5 percent in the previous quarter.