Italy officially emerged from recession along with the European Union as a bloc yesterday, with official data showing quarterly growth of 0.6 per cent after five quarters of shrinkage.

On a 12-month comparison, gross domestic product in the quarter showed contraction of 4.6 per cent, the Istat statistics agency said, citing seasonally adjusted figures.

The results, a first estimate, closely echo economists' predictions of 0.6 per cent quarterly growth and an annual contraction of 4.7 per cent according to a consensus compiled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Istat attributed the quarterly growth to "an increase in the value added of industry and services," while that of agriculture fell back, it said, without elaborating.

"It's clear that industry played the lion's share" in returning the economy to growth, said Marco Valli, chief economist for Italy of banking giant UniCredit.

He added however: "We are sceptical that the pace of growth seen in the third quarter will be maintained in the fourth quarter."

Analyst Fabio Pammolli, noting that industrial production fell back in September, said the recovery was partly due to inventory rebuilding.

"The uncertainty is not over," said Pammolli, head of the CERM economic think tank in Rome. "We should be careful not to proclaim victory.

Both Mr Valli and Mr Pammolli predict growth to remain stable in the fourth quarter.

"The real question is how many years Italy will take to return to pre-crisis growth levels. Today's figures don't answer that question," said Mr Pammolli.

Italy's central bank last month warned that recovery "remained uncertain" with no clear indication of returning demand.

The recession in Italy, struggling under a massive public debt, was among the most severe in the eurozone although the country was largely spared from the banking crisis thanks to limited overseas exposure.