Rome, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Italy's economy appears to have turned a corner after six years of stagnation, rating agency Standard&Poor's (S&P) said Wednesday.
In a new report titled "Italy: Towards The End Of The Tunnel?", the ratings agency said Italian gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.5 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017, the highest read in six years.
"The upturn is spreading to all sectors of the economy," said Jean-Michel Six, S&P Global Chief Economist for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "What's particularly comforting is that investment is now playing a leading role again, after a pause in early 2017, thanks in particular to tax incentives."
However, investments still have a long way to go to recover to their pre-crisis level. At the end of the second quarter they was still 20 percent down from 2007, according to the S&P report.
The agency analysts held "cautious optimism" towards the change based on two factors. Italy's state rescue of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) bank and two Veneto lenders, and the successful recapitalization of UniCredit bank, should lead to easier credit conditions.
At the same time, the labor market "is gradually making progress," with about 150,000 new jobs recorded in the first half of this year, according to S&P.
On Tuesday, Italian statistics agency ISTAT said that according to its preliminary estimates, third-quarter GDP rose 0.5 percent over the second quarter of 2017 and by 1.8 percent compared with the third quarter of 2016.
These estimates mean Italy's economy is expanding faster than that of the UK, according to ISTAT.
