Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleIn March, Italy's business and consumer morale fell, with ISTAT's index dropping to 93.3. The economic outlook is affected by geopolitical tensions and trade tariffs.
ROME (Reuters) - Morale among Italian businesses and consumers slumped in March, data showed on Friday, casting a shadow over already weak growth prospects for the euro zone's third largest economy.
National statistics bureau ISTAT's composite business confidence index, combining surveys of the manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors, fell to 93.3 from 94.7 the previous month, posting the lowest reading since November last year.
The decline was driven by a steep drop in service sector morale. Manufacturing also registered a decline, while construction sector confidence picked up and sentiment among retailers was broadly stable.
Consumer confidence plunged this month to 95.0 from 98.8 in February, ISTAT said, far below a median forecast of 98.8 in a Reuters' poll of seven analysts and posting the lowest level since November 2023.
The Italian economy grew by 0.7% in 2024, data showed this month, below the government's 1% target and registering the same growth rate as in 2023. Most analysts expect a similar modest expansion this year, again below Rome's target of 1.2%.
Recent economic data has been mostly weak, and the outlook is clouded by geopolitical tensions, the prospect of U.S. trade tariffs and the difficulties faced by Rome in deploying COVID-19 pandemic recovery funds received from the European Union.
(Reporting By Gavin Jones, graphic by Stefano Bernabei)
The article discusses the decline in business and consumer morale in Italy and its impact on economic growth.
ISTAT's business confidence index fell to 93.3 from 94.7 in February.
Geopolitical tensions, potential U.S. trade tariffs, and challenges in using EU recovery funds are affecting the outlook.
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