The Italian economy grew 1.5 percent the last quarter of 2010 year-on-year, helped by increased consumer spending and exports, national statistics agency Istat said on Friday.
The agency reported a 1.3 percent growth for the said period last month.
Sales of exported goods advanced 0.5 percent from October to December, and household consumption gained 0.1 percent from the third quarter, Istat said.
Italy, the fourth largest economy in the European Union, tried hard to pull out from the 2009 recession when its GDP shrank 5.1 percent and its recovery is less pronounced than other large economies that use the euro currency.
The German economy grew 0.4 percent during the fourth quarter from the third quarter, and rose 4 percent over the same period in 2009. France rose 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis and 1.5 percent from the same period of previous year./.