Italy Economy Stagnates In Q3

(RTTNews) - Italy's economy remained stagnant in the third quarter after contracting in the previous quarter, preliminary data from the statistical office ISTAT showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product remained flat in the third quarter, following a 0.1 percent decline in the second quarter. Meanwhile, economists had expected a 0.1 percent rebound.

On the demand side, the negative contribution of the domestic component was substantially offset by the positive contribution of net exports, the agency said.

On a yearly basis, GDP advanced at a slightly slower pace of 0.4 percent versus a 0.5 percent increase in the second quarter. The expected growth was 0.6 percent.

Separate official data showed that Italy's unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent in September from August's stable rate of 6.0 percent. The number of unemployed people increased by 31,000 to 1.582 million in September compared to the previous month.