Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 28, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleIn January, Italian business and consumer morale improved, suggesting potential economic growth. ISTAT's index showed gains in manufacturing and consumer confidence.
ROME, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Italian business morale touched a two-year high in January and consumer confidence also rose, data showed on Wednesday, offering some prospect of firmer growth for the euro zone's third-largest economy.
National statistics institute ISTAT's composite business morale index, combining surveys of the manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors, increased to 97.6 this month, the highest level since January 2024, from 96.6 in December.
The sub-index for manufacturing rose to 89.2, above a forecast of 89.0 in Reuters' survey of six analysts.
The consumer confidence index edged up to 96.8 from 96.6 the previous month, ISTAT said, below a median forecast of 97.0 in Reuters' poll.
The improved business and consumer sentiment came against a background of economic weakness in Italy.
Italy's government set a full-year growth target of 0.5% for 2025 and 0.7% for this year, among the lowest rates in Europe.
In the third quarter last year, gross domestic product increased by a marginal 0.1%, following a 0.1% contraction in the previous three months.
(Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, graphic by Stefano Bernabei, editing by Gavin Jones, Keith Weir)
The Business Morale Index is a composite measure that reflects the confidence levels of businesses across various sectors, including manufacturing, retail, construction, and services.
The Consumer Confidence Index measures how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are regarding their expected financial situation and the overall economy.
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