Italy risks missing its already unambitious growth targets for 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a senior government official.

“The impact of the coronavirus risks being significantly negative on the global economy and also on the Italian one,” Deputy Finance Minister Antonio Misiani, said in an interview in Rome Tuesday. “It becomes more complicated today to reach the government target of 0.6% growth in the budget law.”

The outbreak has come at a difficult time for Italy’s economy. Output unexpectedly shrank 0.3 percentage points in the final quarter of 2019, ramping up pressure on the fragile coalition government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco warned of “significant” downside risks to the country’s outlook.

In fact, the country could be heading for its fourth recession in a little more than a decade.

last updated on 13, Feb 2020.