| Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|
| Business Confidence | 93.6 | 93.6 |
| Manufacturing Confidence | 87.4 | 87.8 |
| Consumer Confidence | 96.2 | 97.2 |
Highlights
Despite manufacturing and consumer confidence weakening in August, overall business sentiment held steady at 93.6.
Consumers' outlook was more negative than manufacturing, falling to 96.2 in August from 97.2 in July, as declines among components were wide ranging. Their outlook for the coming months fell to 92.2 from 93.9, suggesting a deeper negative view for the economy.
Confidence in the manufacturing sector also waned in August, but not to the degree to which consumer confidence did, dropping to 87.4 from 87.8 in July. Weighing on sentiment are worsening production levels and inventory buildup, although order books were seen to be improving slightly.
Retailers' confidence was negatively impacted by increased inventories and a glummer assessment of expectations and trends, the index falling to 102.8 from 105.7 in July. This development is confirming other indicators showing a more cautious consumer in the face of uncertainty.
One bright spot was the services industry which improved to 95.0 in August from 93.8 in July, with improving outlooks for order books and current business trends.
Overall, sentiment remains fragile and it remains to be seen if it continues to hold up as US tariffs make their way through the European economies.
Consumers' outlook was more negative than manufacturing, falling to 96.2 in August from 97.2 in July, as declines among components were wide ranging. Their outlook for the coming months fell to 92.2 from 93.9, suggesting a deeper negative view for the economy.
Confidence in the manufacturing sector also waned in August, but not to the degree to which consumer confidence did, dropping to 87.4 from 87.8 in July. Weighing on sentiment are worsening production levels and inventory buildup, although order books were seen to be improving slightly.
Retailers' confidence was negatively impacted by increased inventories and a glummer assessment of expectations and trends, the index falling to 102.8 from 105.7 in July. This development is confirming other indicators showing a more cautious consumer in the face of uncertainty.
One bright spot was the services industry which improved to 95.0 in August from 93.8 in July, with improving outlooks for order books and current business trends.
Overall, sentiment remains fragile and it remains to be seen if it continues to hold up as US tariffs make their way through the European economies.
Definition
The Italian statistics office (Istat) conducts business and consumer confidence surveys over the first fifteen and ten working days of each reference month respectively. These provide information about current and expected developments in key sector variables. The largely qualitative results are synthesized for each survey into a single number that provides an overall measure of sentiment. Business confidence reflects the combined results of separate surveys covering manufacturing, retail, construction and services.
Description
If investors want to know how the business or consumer sectors are performing as they evaluate their investment decisions, they can find timely and in depth information in the latest Istat surveys. Although short-term swings can be erratic, changes in trends in confidence can contain very useful information about a sector’s underlying health well in advance of the release of the official data. Moreover, by including some forward-looking components (e.g. manufacturing orders or consumer buying intentions) the Istat surveys can also provide a potential insight into prospective developments.
