Italy Consumer Confidence, Business Morale Improves In May

(RTTNews) - Italy's consumer confidence improved in May after falling to the lowest level in one-and-a-half years in May, and composite business confidence rose for the first time in four months, survey data from the statistical office Istat showed on Thursday.

Consumer sentiment rose to 96.5 in May from 92.7 in the previous month.

Among components, the personal climate index improved to 96.1 in May from 93.9 in April, and the future climate increased to 93.7 from 89.1. Similarly, the index measuring the current climate climbed to 98.6 from 95.4, and the economic climate index rose sharply from 89.6 to 97.5.

The data also showed that the composite business confidence index strengthened to 93.1 in May from 91.6 in April.

The survey revealed that positive signals came from all subsectors except construction.

The manufacturing index increased to 86.5 from 85.8 in April as all the components improved.

The morale improved strongly in market services, with the corresponding index rising to 94.5 from 91.4. Meanwhile, confidence in the construction sector eased as the opinions on orders remained stable and the expectations on employment at the company decreased.