ROME (dpa-AFX) - Confidence among Italian households worsened to the lowest level in five months in September, and business confidence turned more pessimistic, survey results from the statistical office Istat showed on Wednesday.
Consumer sentiment dropped to 91.2 in September from 94.5 in the previous month. The expected reading was 94.0. Any score below 100 indicates a pessimistic outlook. Moreover, this was the lowest reading since April.
Among components, the current conditions index decreased notably from 97.8 to 90.4, while the index measuring future conditions rose to 92.3 from 90.2. Both the economic and personal sentiment weakened from 92.3 to 88.0 and from 92.4 to 95.4, respectively.
Similarly, the composite business confidence indicator weakened to 95.9 in September from 97.0 a month ago.
Nonetheless, the manufacturing confidence strengthened, with the corresponding indicator increasing to 91.9 from 90.2, driven by improved signs of order book.
The confidence in the market services worsened to 96.9 from 99.4, and the morale for the construction sector turned pessimistic, with the respective index falling to 97.5 from 102.8 due to a more negative outlook regarding both employment expectations and order book assessments. There was less positive confidence among retailers as the index eased to 104.5 from 106.5.
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