FM Franco: Inflation Unlikely To Decline Quickly

Speaking at the Italian Banking Association's annual assembly, Italian Finance Minister Daniele Franco. States that 'inflation does not seem likely to decline quickly', and will not drop in the short-to-medium term.

• Says that the Ukranian-Russian war has 'significantly worsened' the economic outlook, and that Italy is facing its most difficult moment since the end of the Second World War.
• Says that Italy 'probably saw robust GDP growth' in Q222, and that 2022 growth is expected at around 2%.
• Franco: Gov't is boosting gas supplies from other countries and green energy investment to cut dependence on Russian gas.
• The difficult economic situation outlined by Franco comes at a difficult time for PM Mario Draghi's gov't. In recent days he looks to have done enough to keep the populist 5-Star Movement as part of his coalition (Draghi had stated he would resign if the 5-Stars withdrew). Nevertheless, the broad coalition gov't remains shaky just under a year until the next general election has to take place.