Italy: Business confidence continues to drop in May
The National Institute of Statistics (Istat)’s composite business confidence indicator (Clima di Fiducia delle Imprese Italiane, IESE)—which covers the manufacturing, construction, services and retail sectors—declined to 104.7 points in May, below April’s revised 105.0 points (previously reported: 105.1).
The further weakening came mainly on the back of a slight deterioration in sentiment in the construction and market services sectors. In the construction sector employment expectations worsened notably, while in the market services sector both assessments and expectations on order books declined. On the other hand, confidence in the retail trade sector improved somewhat on better expectations on future sales. Meanwhile, sentiment in the manufacturing sector remained virtually unchanged.