Bank of Italy see flat growth in Q3, sounds alarm on duties

(ANSA) - Rome, October 18 - The Bank of Italy said on Friday that it estimates that Italy's growth was flat in the third quarter of 2019 with respect to the second.
    GDP was up 0.1% in the second quarter.
    The central bank said that Italy is projected to have zero growth for 2019 as a whole too. The Bank of Italy said that the government's budget for 2020 is "slightly expansive" as it averts a VAT hike set to kick in next year and "other measures" designed to boost growth The new U.S. tariffs on EU products may have a major impact on the Italian economy even though they affect "a relatively limited quota of Italian exports to the United States", the Bank of Italy said.
    The bank said that around 400 million euros worth of Italian exports are affected, but also sounded the alarm about the "indirect effect" of the tariffs. It said that "foreign demand" for Italy's State bonds registered a "strong increase between August and June".
    It cited the European Commission's decision not to open an infringement procedure against Italy over its budget plans.
    It said 81 billion euros worth of State bonds were bought by foreign investors in the first eight months of the year.