Italy GDP to grow 0.1% in Q1 says Istat

(ANSA) - Rome, February 27 - Italy's economy will return to growth in the first quarter of 2015, Istat national statistics bureau said Friday in its monthly report.
    "GDP is expected to rise 0.1%," the agency said. This would be the first rise after 14 consecutive quarters of flat or decreasing GDP numbers and would be driven by exports, Istat said.
    However domestic demand and consumption are still lagging and the unemployment rate gives no sign of slowing down, the bureau said.
    "Difficulties persist in the labour market, which shows no clear signs of a reversal of the trend observed over the past months," Istat said.