Italian economy shrank by 0.2% in second quarter

(ANSA) - Rome, August 6 - The Italian economy decreased by 0.2% in the second quarter of this year, following a 0.5% loss in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three months of the year, national statistical agency Istat said Wednesday. Compared with the second quarter in 2013, GDP decreased by 0.3% between April and June, the agency said. This means Italy is in a technical recession, said Istat.
    The figures are preliminary and may be adjusted at a future date.
    But they are bad news for an economy that has been struggling to recover from its worst recession since the Second World War.
    Hopes for a recovery already sustained a heavy blow earlier in the year when Istat reported that the economy fell by 0.1% between January and March, a figure later revised downwards to 0.5%.
    Istat also noted that the second-quarter loss was the worst in the April-to-June period in 14 years. Meanwhile, Italy's main stock exchange shed 2.2% in morning trading after the economic figures were released.