ROME (dpa-AFX) - Corrects first para
Confidence among Italian households remained less pessimistic in August as the level rose to the highest in six months, and business confidence continued to show some resilience, survey results from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday.
Consumer sentiment rose to 94.5 in August from 94.2 in the previous month. The expected reading was 95.0. Nonetheless, a score below 100 indicates a pessimistic outlook.
Among components, both the economic and future sentiment improved from 90.9 to 92.3 and from 90.2 to 89.8, respectively. Similarly, the current conditions index rose to 97.8 from 97.4, while the personal sentiment remained stable at 95.4.
The composite business confidence indicator climbed to a 5-month high of 96.9 in August from 95.7 a month ago.
Manufacturing confidence strengthened slightly, with the corresponding indicator increasing to 89.9 from 89.7, driven by improved expectations on production and better assessments of inventories.
The confidence in the market services rose to 99.5 from 98.2, and the morale for the construction sector turned optimistic, with the respective index rising to 102.9 from 96.8 due to a more positive outlook regarding both employment expectations and order book assessments.
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