Italy’s economy shrank 12.4% in the second quarter from the previous three months, preliminary data showed on Friday, as activity nosedived during the coronavirus pandemic, but the fall was less severe than many analysts had predicted. The quarterly slump in gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro zone’s third largest economy was “unprecedented”, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. On a year-on-year basis, second quarter GDP tumbled 17.3%, ISTAT said. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 15.0% contraction quarter-on-quarter and an 18.7% drop year-on-year. All segments of the economy suffered, ISTAT said, without giving details.