Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.2 per cent from July to September compared to the previous quarter, dpa cited national statistics office Istat as estimating on Thursday. The third quarter data was in line with what Britain's Barclay's bank had predicted, but much better than forecasts from Italy's UniCredit, which had expected Italian GDP to have shrunk by 0.5 per cent in the quarter. On an annual basis, Italy's economy was down by 2.4 per cent, Istat said. A country is said to be in a recession once it records negative growth for two consecutive quarters. In Italy's case, economic growth has been negative for five consecutive quarters. However, the latest contraction was less severe, possibly indicating that the economy is getting closer to recovery. In the first and second quarters of the year, GDP had contracted by 0.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent. Istat said that in the third quarter of 2012 the agricultural and services sectors were down, while industrial activity picked up slightly.
