+0.6% in the first quarter of 2023, more than in France and Germany – Corriere.it

Italian GDP recorded an increase of 0.6% in the first quarter of 2023, adjusted for calendar effects and seasonally adjusted, on the previous quarter. Compared with the same period of 2022, growth of 1.9%. The communication released by Istat revises the estimates upwards compared to what was announced on April 28: the estimates, in fact, indicated a cyclical growth of 0.5% and a trend of 1.8%. On the basis of these data, the acquired growth of the Italian GDP for 2023, that which would be obtained if the change were zero in the following three quarters, equal to +0.9%, with an increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to that of April (+0.8%).

Domestic and foreign demand

Compared to the previous quarter (which closed with a setback at -0.1%), between January and March all the main aggregates of domestic demand increased: national final consumption grew by 0.7% and gross fixed investments by 0.8%. There was a slight decrease in both imports and exports, respectively by 1% and 1.4%. National demand net of inventories, Istat explains, contributed +0.7 percentage points to GDP growth: +0.3 derive from the consumption of families and private social institutions, +0.2 from gross fixed investments and +0.2 from general government expenditure. Conversely, both the change in inventories and net foreign demand contributed negatively to the change in GDP, both by -0.1 percentage points. There are positive cyclical trends in value added in industry and services, which grew respectively by 0.2% and 0.8%, and a stationary trend in agriculture.

Comparison in Europe and with the USA

The pace at which the Italian economy traveled during the first quarter of 2023, according to Istat data, is higher if compared to that maintained by France and Germany. In cyclical terms, the French GDP, for example, increased by 0.2%, while it decreased by 0.3% in Germany. That of the United States in the same period grew by 0.3%. In trend terms, however, France recorded an increase of 0.8% and Germany still a slight decline of 0.2%. Growth of 1.6% of the United States. Overall, in the euro area, GDP increased by 0.1% compared to the previous quarter and by 1.3% compared to the first quarter of 2022.