Italy: Consumer confidence slips in October
The consumer confidence index released by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) ticked down to 111.7 in October from September’s 112.2.
October’s dip came on the back of deteriorations in the personal, current and future components, while the economic component gained some ground. Households’ assessments of their current financial and economic situation worsened, as did their expectations on their future financial and economic situation. Moreover, households’ assessments of current and future saving opportunities deteriorated. Additionally, their willingness to buy big-ticket items weakened. On the flip side, consumers’ expectations on the future general economic situation and assessments of the current general economic situation improved, likely due to better relations of the new government with EU institutions and the correlated likelihood of an agreement on the 2020 budget.