(see related)
Economy Minister Pier
Carlo Padoan on Friday played down disappointing GDP data, which
showed the Italian economy grew 0.1% in the final quarter of
2015 with respect to the previous three months, while growth for
last year as a whole was 0.7%.
"The 0.7% to emerge from (statistics agency) Istat is
lower than the government's prediction," admitted Padoan.
"I'd have preferred to see a few decimals more, but
decimals don't count for much.
"The important thing is that we are in growth gear after
three years of profound recession. This has been confirmed and
will be reinforced in 2016.
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