Italian minister sees stagnation, not recession

Italy’s Treasury Minister said on Sunday he did not see a recession on the horizon but acknowledged there could be a period of stagnation.

The Italian economy has been slowing for the past year and the GDP declined by 0.1 percent in the third quarter, the weakest result since 2014.

On Friday industrial output for November came in much weaker than expected, increasing the risk of recession for the euro zone’s third largest economy.

“Let’s wait for data for the last quarter of 2018. I don’t see a recession, I see a situation of stagnation,” Giovanni Tria said in an interview in Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Tria confirmed his commitment to cutting the country’s debt pile, but said growth depended also on monetary policy and the international outlook.