Italy's economy flat in third quarter, misses forecast

Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Italian economy was flat in the third quarter of this year compared with the previous three months, preliminary data showed on Friday, a slightly weaker reading than expected.

On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product in the euro zone's third largest economy was up 0.8% between July and September, national statistics bureau ISTAT said.

A Reuters survey of 28 economists had forecast a 0.1% rise quarter-on-quarter and a 0.9% increase year-on-year.

So-called "acquired growth" stood at 0.8% at the end of the third quarter, meaning that even if GDP is flat in the remaining quarter of 2026, full-year growth will be up 0.8% from 2025.

Giorgia Meloni's government this month hiked its economic growth outlook to 1% for this year and 0.8% next from previous targets of 0.6% respectively.

In 2025 Italy grew by 0.6%.

The government forecast a 0.9% growth rate for 2028.

ISTAT gave the following details on Italian GDP for the third quarter of 2026 and the previous two quarters:

Q3 2026 Q2 2026 Q1 2026

Q/Q (pct change) 0.0p 0.2 0.3

Y/Y (pct change) 0.8p 1.0 0.8

p = preliminary

(Reporting by Reuters staff)