Italy's economy, the third largest in the eurozone, will only recover from its coronavirus-related slump at the end of next year, the national business lobby Confindustria said.

After a record fall of 8.9 per cent last year — the biggest in Italy's postwar history — gross domestic product (GDP) should expand by 4.1pc this year and by 4.2pc in 2022, the association said.

“The economy should fill the hole created by the pandemic in 2020 at the end of 2022,” Confindustria said in an economic forecast report.

Confindustria's forecasts were more optimistic than the International Monetary Fund's, which last week predicted growth of 4.2pc and 3.6pc in 2021 and 2022.

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