The Italian economy, the third-biggest in the eurozone, contracted by 0.1 percent in the third quarter in the ninth showing of such shrinkage in a row, initial official data showed on Thursday.

The contraction compared with output in the previous quarter, but the data also showed that over 12 months the economy shrank by 1.9 percent.

Italy has pulled away from deep political crisis but is still going through a period of big structural reforms to tackle a debt mountain and raise efficiency.

The latest data showed that output by the sectors of agriculture and services shrank in the quarter. However, industrial output picked up.

The government says it expected the economy to take a turn into a trend of growth by the end of the year and for growth next year to be 1.1 percent.