Italian consumer sentiment index falls in October, business confidence climate rebounds slightly

Italian consumer sentiment dropped a bit in the month of October. According to Istat’s report, the consumer confidence index dropped to 111.7 from 112.2. Looking at the components, the personal component index dropped to 105.4 from 107.8, whereas the current and the future components dropped to 107.9 from 110.0 and to 116.4 from 116.8, respectively. On the contrary, the economic component rose to 128 in October from 127.1 in September.

Meanwhile, the business confidence climate index rebounded a bit, rising to 99 in October from 98.6. The manufacturing confidence index rose to 99.6 from 99. Both the assessments on order books and expectations on production rebounded. The assessments on inventories rose to 5 from 4.1.

The construction confidence index dropped to 141.3 from 143.2. Both its components deteriorated, with the assessments on order books/construction plans falling to -13.9 and the employment expectations dropping to 0.6.

The market services sentiment index rose to 99.6 from 98.6. The expectations on order books and the assessments on business trend rose while the assessments on order books deteriorated.

Meanwhile, the retail trade sentiment index rose to 108.3 from 107.6. The assessments on current sales and those on stocks stayed stable, whereas the expectations on future volume of sales showed improvement. The retail trade confidence index rebounded in the large scale distribution to 111.5 from 110.4; however deteriorated in the small and medium scale to 98.9.