Italy’s latest austerity measures are more than sufficient to balance the country’s budget by 2013 as planned, despite lower growth forecasts to be announced later on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said.

The revised down growth forecasts will be presented to the government in the updated Economy and Finance 2011 report, the ministry said in a statement.

“Despite weaker growth, the austerity plan is amply sufficient to balance the budget in 2013,” it said, contradicting claims by many experts that more measures will be necessary if the government’s target is to be reached.

According to Il Sole 24 Ore financial newspaper, growth forecasts will be revised down to 0.7 per cent in 2011 and 0.6 per cent in 2012, compared to previous forecasts of 1.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.

The figures are still more positive than the forecasts announced on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund, which put growth in 2011 at 0.6 per cent and 2012 at 0.3 per cent.

Despite passing a €54.2 billion austerity plan aimed at balancing the budget by 2013, Italy has not been able to reassure skittish investors, who balk at the country’s vast debt – around 120 of the Gross Domestic Product.

Standard & Poor’s ratings agency lowered Italy’s credit rating level on Tuesday on the grounds that a weak coalition was trying to govern an economy with weak growth prospects – increasing fears that the third largest economy in the eurozone may be next to succumb to the economic crisis.