In August 2025, Italy’s consumer confidence index fell to 96.2, down from 97.2 the previous month, while the business confidence indicator remained stable at 93.6, according to a release from the national statistics office Istat.
The negative trend in consumer confidence, the institute detailed, “reflects a broad-based deterioration across all sentiment sub-indices, albeit with varying intensity.” The most significant declines were recorded in future expectations and the economic climate, which dropped to 92.2 (from 93.9) and 97.0 (from 98.2), respectively. More contained decreases were seen in the personal and current climate indices, which fell to 95.9 (from 96.9) and 99.2 (from 99.7).
For businesses, confidence decreased in the industrial sector, with manufacturing dipping to 87.4 from 87.8 and construction falling to 101.3 from 102.3. The most pronounced drop occurred in retail trade, where the index fell to 102.8 from 105.7. Conversely, confidence rose in the market services sector, climbing to 95.0 from 93.8.
A component-level analysis reveals a mixed picture within the manufacturing sector, where expectations for production levels worsened but assessments of orders improved. Judgments on stocks of finished products also indicated an accumulation compared to the previous month. In the construction sector, a negative evolution in order assessments was coupled with rising employment expectations.