Italy: Economic sentiment falls to 10-month low in February
Economic sentiment came in at 99.2 in February, down from January’s 100.8. As a result, the index dipped below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected languished sentiment in the industrial sector and dampened sentiment in the construction sector. In the meantime, confidence in the services sector cooled in February, while sentiment in the retail sector waned in the surveyed month. Finally, consumer confidence was unchanged in February.
Relating to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations weakened, while the economic uncertainty index decreased in February.