GDP struggles as consumer spending falls says Istat 'Negative growth of 0.5% in first quarter'

Italian GDP is struggling because of a fall in consumer spending, statistics office Istat said Tuesday.

Istat chief Enrico Giovannini said growth for the first quarter would be -0.5%.

"We already know that first-quarter GDP hasn't done well because of the fall in consumer spending," he said.

Italy will see a GDP fall of 2.2% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.