The Italian economy will shrink by more than expected in 2013, protracting a record-length recession until the last quarter of the year, the country's national statistics office said Monday, according to dpa. Istat said gross domestic product (GDP) would fall by 1.8 per cent over the year. It had previously forecast a 1.7 per cent contraction. GDP growth was expected to turn positive in the fourth quarter of 2013 - contributing to a feeble 0.7-per-cent expansion over the course of 2014. In a draft budget law that is being discussed by parliament, the government assumed that the economy would shrink by 1.7 per cent this year and grow by 1 per cent in the following one.
