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By Gavin Jones and Valentina Consiglio
ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s prospects of reaching the government’s 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of 1% were hit on Friday by downward revisions to its growth rates in the first and second quarters.
National statistics bureau ISTAT said so-called “acquired growth” at the end of the second quarter stood at 0.4%, down from the 0.6% estimated prior to the revisions.
This means that if there were to be zero quarterly growth in the third and fourth quarters, full-year growth would come in at 0.4% from the previous year.
ISTAT said the euro zone’s third largest economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter from same period of last year, sharply revising down a previous estimate of 0.9%.
The quarter-on-quarter growth rate was confirmed at 0.2%.
Year-on-year growth in the first quarter was revised to 0.2% from a previously reported 0.6%, while the quarterly rate was confirmed at 0.3%.
The revisions were part of ISTAT’s standard data release calendar and reflect the arrival of more complete economic data.
ISTAT last month revised down full-year growth in 2023 to 0.7% from a previously reported 0.9%.
(additional reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Giulia Segreti)