ROME, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Italy's ambitions to achieve a 1% growth target for its 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) have been jeopardized by recent downward revisions of its growth rates for the first and second quarters. The national statistics bureau, ISTAT, reported that the 'acquired growth' at the end of the second quarter was adjusted to 0.4%, a decrease from the previously estimated 0.6%.
This adjustment implies that if Italy experiences no growth in the third and fourth quarters, the full-year growth would be limited to 0.4% compared to the previous year. ISTAT noted that Italy's economy, the third largest in the eurozone, grew by 0.6% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, which is a significant revision from an earlier estimate of 0.9%.
The confirmed quarter-on-quarter growth rate remains at 0.2%. Additionally, year-on-year growth for the first quarter was revised down to 0.2% from 0.6%, with the quarterly rate confirmed at 0.3%. These revisions are part of ISTAT's standard data release and reflect the incorporation of more comprehensive economic data. Last month, ISTAT also lowered its full-year growth forecast for 2023 to 0.7% from a previously reported 0.9%.