Italy: Consumer confidence at over one-year low in December
The consumer confidence index released by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) declined to 113.1 points in December from November’s revised 114.7 points (previously reported: 114.8 points), marking the worst result since August 2017.
Consumers’ expectations of the future general economic situation and their assessments on the current general economic situation deteriorated, likely due to concerns about the recent turbulence in the financial markets, the contraction of the economy in the third quarter and the negative effects of the 2019 budget. Meanwhile, their expectations on unemployment and their future personal economic situation as well as their outlook on future saving potential also deteriorated. Expectations on unemployment recorded a particularly sharp deterioration, probably due to the current and future anticipated effects of laws recently approved by the government to regulate the labor market more tightly. Additionally, consumers’ assessments of their current personal economic situation also declined, as did their willingness to buy big-ticket items.