Italy Consumer Confidence Improves In September

(RTTNews) - Italy's consumer confidence and business morale rose somewhat in September, survey data from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday.

Consumer sentiment climbed to 96.8 in September from 96.2 in the previous month. The expected score was 96.5. Nonetheless, any reading below 100 indicates a pessimistic outlook.

Among the components, the economic climate index improved to 98.8 in September from 97.0 in August. The index measuring the personal climate rose slightly to 96.0 from 95.9, and the future climate increased from 92.2 to 92.6. Similarly, the current climate index strengthened to 99.9 from 99.2.

The data also showed that the composite business confidence index rose to 93.7 in September from 93.6 in August. The marginal improvement in the index was driven by positive trends in construction and market services.

The index for market services climbed to 95.6 from 95.6, and the construction remained more positive at 101.5 versus 101.3 in August. On the other hand, the manufacturing confidence held steady at 87.3, and the retail trade index eased to 101.6 from 102.7.