Published by Uma Rajagopal
Posted on December 20, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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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.
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)
Consumer confidence measures how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are regarding their expected financial situation and the overall economy, influencing their spending and saving behaviors.
Business morale refers to the overall attitude, satisfaction, and outlook of employees within a company, which can affect productivity and company performance.
A business morale index is a statistical measure that reflects the sentiment and confidence levels of businesses in a specific sector or economy, often derived from surveys.
A composite business morale index combines various sector-specific indices to provide a comprehensive view of business sentiment across different industries.
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