Italy business morale picks up in December but consumers more downbeat

ROME (Reuters) -Morale among Italian businesses and consumers moved in opposite directions in December, data showed on Friday, with sentiment among firms recovering from recent lows but consumer confidence slipping for a third month running.

The data paints an uncertain picture going into next year for the euro zone’s third largest economy, which has stalled in recent months.

National statistics institute ISTAT’s composite business morale index, combining surveys of the manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors, came in at 95.3, rebounding from a more than three-year low of 93.2 in November.

The sub-index measuring morale among manufacturers declined to 85.8 from 86.5, but this was outweighed by a strong improvement in service sector sentiment, which jumped to 99.6 from 93.9.

Consumer confidence slipped this month to 96.3 from 96.6 in November, ISTAT said, coming in short of a median forecast of 97.0 in a Reuters’ poll of analysts.

Italian gross domestic product stagnated in the third quarter from the previous three months, and ISTAT has said it expects no pick up in the fourth quarter.

It forecast this month that full-year growth will come in at around 0.5%, half the government’s official 1.0% target.

Most analysts and forecasting institutes also expect next year’s growth to be significantly below Rome’s official forecast of 1.2%.

(Reporting By Gavin Jones, graphic by Stefano Bernabei)