The manufacturing / services dichotomy remains alive also in March and will be at the center of a contraction in GDP in the 1st quarter of 2021. This was stated today by the economists of Ing who estimate a contraction in GDP in the order of 0 , 8% at the economic level. Initial recovery is expected ‘softly’ in the second quarter. “While the key to the recovery in consumption is closely linked to future progress on vaccinations, Italian producers / builders seem to look beyond, perhaps observing the flow of demand that will come with the recovery plan”, comments Paolo Pizzoli, senior economist of ING following today’s data on trust released by Istat.