Italy's GDP in the third quarter of 2012 is still negative, but the contraction appears to be slowing down, to -0,2% from -0,7% in the second quarter. The OECD writes it in a report, pointing out that Italy's GDP has been contracting for five consecutive quarters. For the entire OECD area, growth remained stable in the third quarter at +0,2%. Compared to the third quarter of 2011, the OECD area's GDP grew by 1,1%, down from 1,6% in the second quarter. Among the major economies, the United States achieved the best performance (+2,3%) and Italy the worst (-2,4%).
For the Eurozone, on the other hand, the contraction slowed down to -0,1% from -0,2% in the second quarter: the contraction phase therefore involved the whole Eurozone, while the European Union popped a modest +0,1%. On the other hand, the decline experienced by the Japanese GDP was heavy (-0,9% after +.1%).
