FX.co ★ Italy Consumer Confidence, Business Morale Weakens

Italian consumer confidence saw a significant dip in April, reaching its lowest point in the last five months according to a recent survey conducted by Istat, Italy's statistical office. Consumer sentiment fell from 96.5 in March to 95.2 in April.

In terms of individual elements that make up the overall consumer morale, the economic climate index decreased from 101.9 in March to 99.4 in April. Similarly, the index that measures the personal financial climate dropped to 93.7 from March's 94.6 and the future financial index decreased to 97.2 from 93.9. However, there was a marginal increase in the current climate index which rose from 96.0 to 96.2.

Apart from consumer confidence, the data also indicated a drop in overall business confidence which fell to 95.8 in April from 97.0 in March. The manufacturing sentiment index also declined to 87.6 from the previous month's 88.4. The mood among the construction sector saw a significant drop as well, with the index falling from 105.7 to 103.4. Confidence levels saw a decline in both, the market services and retail sectors.