Italy's Debt Third Largest in the World

Italy's public debt rose for the fourth month in a row in April and set a new record high of 1,661.4 billion euros, the Bank of Italy said on Friday.

The debt was some 15 billion euros higher than in March and was over 50 billion euros more than in April of last year.

According to a recent forecast by the industrial employers' association Confindustria, Italy's debt will dip to 103.2 percent of GDP this year and 102.7 percent next year.

Italy's debt in 2007 was 104 percent of GDP.

Italy's debt, the third largest in the world after the United States and Japan, climbed to 105 percent of GDP at the end of the first quarter this year.