Italy: Business confidence decreases further in April
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 105.1 points in April, below March’s 105.9 points.
The slight weakening came mainly on the back of a notable deterioration in sentiment in the retail trade sector, in which assessments on current sales and expectations of future sales both declined. Sentiment in the manufacturing and market services sector also weakened, albeit to a lesser extent, as expectations on order books and activity dropped. On the other hand, confidence in the construction sector improved significantly, as both firms’ assessment on order books and expectations of employment rose.