OECD SAYS ITALY SHOWING STRONGEST SIGNS OF RECOVERY

OECD SAYS ITALY SHOWING STRONGEST SIGNS OF RECOVERY

(ANSA) - Rome, November 6 - The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Friday that Italy's economy in September showed the strongest signs of recovery in the 30-nation group for the second month in a row.

The OECD said its composite leading indicators (CLIs)for September was up 1.3 points over August and 3.4 points from September 2008, and while the monthly increase for Italy was also 1.3 points, it soared 10.8% for the year.

In August, the index for Italy was up two points for the month and 10.4 points for the year.

Given this trend, the OECD defined Italian economy as "in expansion"

Germany. Europe's biggest economy, also saw strong gains with its index seeing a 2-point month-on-month increase and 5.7-point year-on-year jump in September.

The OECD report was welcome news for Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi who declared "the worst of the crisis is behind us. It hurt Britain the most, since its economy is based on finance, and lifted the Italian economy to third in Europe and sixth in the United Nations".

"All things considered we cannot complain. We are moving forward despite the fact that these are not exactly the best of times," the premier added.

"The feedback I've been getting recently from big and small business, as well as retailers and artisans, allows me to say that optimism is spreading," Berlusconi said.