Italy still in "deep recession" -Study

15 September Xinhua

Italy's economy will shrink by 2.4 percent this year and will drop by 0.6 percent in 2013, leading industrial association Confindustria forecast in a report .

According to the influential association, there is "heightened uncertainty" as Italy remains "in a deep recession and signs of reversing the trend are not strong. "Confindustria predicted worse figures than previously reported. This year, per capita consumption will fall by 3.6 percent experiencing "the most serious post-war decline," while imports will fall by 7.7 percent and begin to rebound by 0.9 percent in 2013.

Italy must, therefore, "work harder" in order to overcome the crisis, it wrote, adding that fighting record-high unemployment and putting public finances in order must be fundamental objectives.According to figures released by the national central bank on Thursday, public debt fell in July after hitting a record high the previous month.The Bank of Italy said debt stood at 1.96 billion euros (2.53 billion U.S. dollars) in July, compared to 1,97 billion euros (2.54 billion dollars) in June, the first fall since February.

On Thursday, yields on three-year bonds fell at an auction in which Italy sold 4 billion euros (5 billion dollars) worth of government debt.