GDP up monthly 0.1% Q4, yearly 1%

(ANSA) - Rome, March 4 - Italian GDP rose 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2015 over the third quarter and by 1.0% on the fourth quarter of 2014, Istat said Friday, confirming February 12 estimates. "Over the course of the year monthly growth has shown a gradual weakening," the statistics agency said. 2015 started with +0.4, followed by +0.3% and +0.2%. The year-on-year figure, on the other hand, is the highest since the second quarter of 2011. Industry and services were both 0.1% over the month while agriculture fell 0.1% although it showed an 8.4% rise over the year, against 1% for industry and 0.5% for services. In the UK fourth-quarter growth was 0.5% (1.9% yearly), in the US 0.3% (1.9% yearly). France had yearly growth of 1.4% and Germany 2.1%. Premier Matteo Renzi has hailed recent GDP figures as showing that the Italian economy is revving up again.