Italian growth in 2010 revised up to 1.5%

Italy's growth in 2010 has been revised up to 1.5 percent from 1.3 percent because of a change in calculating methods adopted on a European level, the national statistics institute said on Wednesday. According to the new calculations, the 2008 and 2009 recession had slightly less impact on the economy than initially thought. Italy's Gross Domestic Product dropped by 5.1 percent in 2009 instead of 5.2 percent, while in 2008 it dropped by 1.2 percent instead of 1.3 percent, ISTAT said in a statement. The institute also released figures that showed that industrial orders in Italy had risen sharply in August due to a boost in the domestic market. According to the seasonally-adjusted figures, industrial orders rose by 5.0 percent compared to July, due to a rise of 6.8 percent in Italian orders while external orders rose by 2.2 percent.