Central Bank Upgrades Italy's FY26 Economic Growth Outlook

02:37 AM EDT, 10/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Italy's gross domestic product is now expected to rise 0.9% in 2026, compared with the June forecast of 0.5%, as the impact of the Middle East crisis in the first half of the year was less severe than expected, while trends in digital and energy transition investment and tourism were positive, Bank of Italy said Oct. 16. Moving ahead, the economic growth outlook was lifted to 0.7% from 0.4% for 2027 and lowered to 0.8% from 0.9% for 2028. At the same time, forecasts for consumer price inflation were revised to 3.2% from 3.1% for 2026, 2.4% from 2% for 2027, and 1.7% from 1.9% for 2028. Meanwhile, unemployment projections were adjusted to 5.8% from 5.4% for 2026 and 6% from 5.5% for both 2027 and 2028.