Overview
- Istat reported that Italy’s GDP rose 0.2% from the previous quarter and 1.0% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to the preliminary estimate released on July 30.
- The quarter-on-quarter gain was entirely driven by the services sector while industrial value added and agriculture declined.
- Domestic demand excluding inventories made a positive contribution to growth, while net foreign demand subtracted from the headline figure.
- Istat raised the year’s growth acquired from 0.6% to 0.8%, but stressed the estimate is preliminary, based on data available within 30 days and adjusted for working-day differences.
- Compared with faster expansion in the euro area, the print highlights risks that ongoing weakness in manufacturing and weak export demand could keep job and investment gains in factories subdued.