Italy Consumer Confidence Weakens, Business Morale At 3-Month High

(RTTNews) - Italy's consumer confidence decreased further in December to the lowest level in eight months, while composite business confidence rose for the first time in three months, survey data from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday.

Consumer sentiment dropped to 96.3 in December from 96.6 in the previous month. The expected score was 97.0.

Among consumers, a worsening trend is obvious regarding expectations about the economic situation of the country and those about unemployment, the survey said.

The economic climate index declined to 96.1 in December from 97.8 in November, and the future climate worsened from 93.8 to 93.3. Meanwhile, the index measuring the personal climate increased slightly to 96.4 from 96.2, and the current climate index is almost stable at 98.6 versus 98.7 in the prior month.

The data also showed that the composite business confidence index climbed to a 3-month high of 95.3 in December from 93.2 in November.

The rise in the index is driven by the market services sector, where the morale strengthened to 99.6 from 93.6. The retail sector confidence improved marginally since November, while the manufacturing confidence index fell to 85.8 from 86.5.