Istat: consumer and business confidence on the rise in May

In May, both consumer confidence and the composite indicator of business confidence are estimated to have increased, from 92.7 to 96.5 and from 91.6 to 93.1 respectively. This was announced by Istat. Among consumers, there is an overall improvement in all opinions, especially those on the general economic situation: the economic climate rises from 89.6 to 97.5, the personal climate increases from 93.9 to 96.1, the current climate rises from 95.4 to 98.6 and the future climate rises from 89.1 to 93.7. With reference to companies, positive signals came from all sectors with the exception of construction. More specifically, the business confidence index of market services rose from 91.4 to 94.5 and that of retail trade from 101.8 to 102.8. In manufacturing, the index increased from 85.8 to 86.5, while in construction there was a decrease from 103.6 to 102.2.

With regard to the components of the confidence indices, in manufacturing all components improve, while in construction, judgements on orders remain stable and expectations on employment at the company decrease. Turning to market services, all components improved; among the sectors covered by the survey, there was a marked increase in confidence among entrepreneurs in tourism services, recovering from the previous month's sharp decline. In retail trade, only expectations on sales worsened; at the distribution circuit level, the index fell in traditional distribution while it increased in large-scale distribution.

"The business confidence index rose again after three consecutive months of decline to just below the level of last March. The overall improvement is mainly due to the market services sector and, to a lesser extent, to retail trade and manufacturing. Consumer confidence is growing again after last month's drop: all opinions are improving, especially judgements and expectations on the country's economic situation,' Istat commented.