Italy in recession in a stagnant euro zone

The Italian economy has rocked into recession at the end of last year, according to the latest figures.

In the last three months of 2018, the economy contracted by 0.2%, following a 0.1% drop in the third quarter, the Istat statistics bureau announced.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the contraction is likely to continue in 2019.

At the same time, EU figures show that economic growth in the 19 euro area countries is still stagnating.

Growth in the euro area remained stable at 0.2% in the last quarter of 2018, as in the previous quarter and in line with badysts' expectations.

The Italian coalition government was forced to revise its 2019 expansionary budget last month after the European Commission had expressed concern over the impact on the Italian debt level.