The National Institute of Statistics (Istat)’s composite business confidence indicator (Clima di Fiducia delle Imprese Italiane, IESE)—which covers the manufacturing, construction, services and retail sectors—declined to 105.1 points in April, below March’s 105.9 points.
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The slight weakening came mainly on the back of a notable deterioration in sentiment in the retail trade sector, in which assessments on current sales and expectations of future sales both declined.
Sentiment in the manufacturing and market services sector also weakened, albeit to a lesser extent, as expectations on order books and activity dropped.
On the other hand, confidence in the construction sector improved significantly, as both firms’ assessment on order books and expectations of employment rose.
FocusEconomics panelists expect fixed investment to increase 2.5% in 2018, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast. For 2019, panelists see fixed investment growing 2.2%.
The consumer confidence index released by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) dipped slightly to 117.1 points in April from 117.5 points in March. The reading nevertheless beat market expectations of 116.9.
April’s reading reflected a deterioration in consumers’ willingness to buy big-ticket items, as well as in their assessments of their future saving opportunities and in unemployment expectations.
On the other hand, their assessments of both the current general economic situation and their personal economic situations improved.
Moreover, consumers’ expectations on the future general economic situation and on their personal future economic situations also improved.
The results of the survey suggest that consumer sentiment was broadly unaffected by the political stalemate which followed the elections held on 4 March.
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect private consumption to expand 1.0% in 2018, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast. For 2019, panelists see private consumption growing 0.9%. ■