When gasworld last focused on the Italian industrial gases market, the emphasis was on recovery from the global economic recession. The region’s economy had stabilised – later than fellow many fellow European markets – and this was reflected in a marginal return to growth in its gases business in 2010.
Fast-forward a few years, and the picture in Italy is still strikingly similar. Recent reports suggest that Italy is tackling its third recession in a decade and Europe’s third-largest economy will see almost zero growth this year.
Government officials had previously predicted 2014 growth of around 0.8%, but figures in August showed that Italy’s economy had contracted for two successive quarters and, in official terms at least, had fallen back into recession. Growth projections for the year were revised downward as a result.
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