Italy Consumer Confidence Falls To 16-month Low, Business Morale Weakens

(RTTNews) - Italy's consumer confidence worsened to the lowest level in nearly one-and-a-half years, while composite business confidence declined for the second straight month, survey data from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday.

Consumer sentiment dropped to 95.0 in March from 98.8 in the previous month. Further, this was the lowest score since November 2023, when it was 93.0.

The deterioration in consumer confidence expresses a generalized worsening of consumer opinions; the only exception is the assessments on the opportunity to save in the current phase, whose balance increases significantly, the survey said.

The personal climate index worsened to 95.7 in March from 98.3 in January, and the future climate decreased to 91.1 from 96.6. Similarly, the index measuring the current climate declined to 97.9 from 100.5, while the economic climate index weakened sharply from 100.2 to 93.2.

The data also showed that the composite business confidence index dropped to a 4-month low of 93.3 in March from 94.7 in February.

The manufacturing index decreased to 86.0 from 86.9 in February due to weaker orders. The expected score was 87.0.

The morale weakened in retail trade and market services, while confidence strengthened in the construction segment on the back of future employment expectations.