Conte assessed the economic situation and the budget with
Economy Minister Giovanni Tria and the heads of the League and
the 5-Star Movement, the two parties that make up the ruling
coalition, the statement said.
The budget, which will be drawn up in the autumn, "twins the
government's economic goals with the stability of public
finances, in particular the continuation of a downward path in
the ratio of debt to GDP," the statement said.
The commitment to debt reduction helped ease pressure on Italian
stocks and government bonds, which have come under pressure in
recent days due to contagion from financial turmoil in Turkey
and market concerns that Rome's spending plans would push up the
already-high public debt.
Yields fell for the first time in a week on Tuesday, with the
closely watched spread between Italian 10-year bonds and safer
German Bunds narrowing to 272 basis points from 280 the day
before.
"The fact that they (the government) recognize that the
debt-to-GDP is a problem that needs to be dealt with is
something that the market should look at positively," said DZ
Bank strategist Andy Cossor.
"The Turkish lira is not looking as wobbly as it did yesterday
morning and so that is also putting some support under the BTP
market today."
Tria, an academic who is not a member of either ruling party,
will head to China at the end of this month accompanied by a
Bank of Italy official for a five-day visit to meet financial
operators, a Treasury source said.
Tria, who will be in China from Aug 27 to Sept 2, will aim to
convince Chinese investors, including its central bank, to buy
Italian sovereign debt, daily Corriere della Sera reported.
Italy's public debt, at around 132 percent of gross domestic
product, is the highest in the euro zone after Greece's.
(Reporting By Gavin Jones; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
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