Italy delays balanced budget by 2 years

The Italian government has warned it will miss by two years its pledge to balance its budget by 2013. And it has pointed to a deeper-than-expected recession as the reason.rocketballz driver

A gloomy growth forecast for Italy’s economy. ping drivers

The government led by Prime Minister Mario Monti projects that the Italian economy will shrink this year by 1.2 percent, more than previous projections of a 0.4 percent contraction.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti speaks during a news conference at Chigi palace in Rome April 18, 2012.

The economic and financial forecasts, which were approved by the Cabinet, also said the country’s deficit will be 0.5 percent of GDP in 2013, and 0.1 percent of GDP the next year.ping irons

It now expects to balance the budget by 2015.

In addition to a weak economy, Italy’s Deputy Economy and Finance Minister said the country’s contribution to huge bailout loans for Greece, Ireland and Portugal had also pushed back its budget target.r11s driver

Italy’s Deputy Economy and Finance Minister Vittorio Umberto Grilli said, "Italian debt will feel the weight of the aid that Italy and other countries have pledged to bailout plans for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. So it is important to evaluate our structural debt net of these extra weights."

Italy’s enormous debt load pushed up the country’s borrowing costs on the international debt markets to dangerous levels last year. This was later eased back thanks to the European Central Bank’s program offering one trillion euros in low-interest loans to Europe’s banks, which helped lenders buy up their governments’ debt and drive down borrowing costs.callaway irons

After the borrowing costs spiked, then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi last summer announced spending cuts aimed at balancing the budget by 2013. But Monti’s government, which took office in November, said the economic climate had deteriorated since December, requiring a revision of the estimates.

But Italy’s own outlook is still more optimistic than that of the International Monetary Fund, which doesn’t expect Rome to balance its budget until at least 2018.r11 driver

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (R) speaks next to Industry Minister Corrado Passera during a news conference at Chigi palace in Rome April 18, 2012.

A women looks at a perfume shop downtown in Rome April 18, 2012.