Italian Consumer Confidence Weakens, Business Morale Remains Stable

(RTTNews) - Italy's consumer confidence decreased more than expected in August, while composite business confidence stayed unchanged, survey data from the statistical office Istat showed on Thursday.

Consumer sentiment dropped to 96.2 in August from 97.2 in the previous month. The expected reading was 96.6.

Among components, the personal climate index weakened to 95.9 in August from 96.9 in July, and the future climate index dropped to 92.2 from 93.9. Similarly, the index measuring the current climate dropped to 99.2 from 99.7, and the general economic climate index worsened from 98.2 to 97.0.

The data also showed that the composite business confidence index remained stable at 93.6.

The negative trend of the indicator in manufacturing, construction, and retail trade was offset by a marked recovery in confidence in the market services sector, the survey said. The morale for the manufacturing sector declined to 87.4 in August from 87.8 in July.