Italy’s Tria says IMF policies pose risk, defends deficit-spending

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italy’s economy minister Giovanni Tria said on Monday the economic policies recommended by the International Monetary Fund posed a risk to the global economy and that his own government’s approach was not risky.

Asked about an IMF report that said Italy was one of the risks for the global economy, together with China and Brexit, Tria told reporters: “The fourth risk (is) the policies recommended by the IMF.”

“Italy does not pose a risk for the European and the global economy,” he said, insisting that deficit spending was the right policy to pursue in the current economic cycle.

Rome is targeting a 2 percent deficit this year, mostly to boost welfare and pension expenditures. Tria excluded that Italy may consider at this stage additional budget measures for this year to counter the expected slowdown of the economy.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.