Consumer confidence declined in July, albeit slightly, while it continues to rise for businesses. For the former, Istat, in fact, estimates an index that is "slightly down" compared to June (from 100.7 to 100.0). On the other hand, for companies it recorded a new increase, for the second consecutive month, (from 66.2 to 76.7). Even if the level remains, the Institute points out, "far from the levels preceding the health emergency". As for families, the step back follows the "recovery" marked in the previous month. In this case, the decrease in the economic climate, relative to the country's situation and to the future one, weighs heavily.
The climate of business confidence shows a growth "widespread in all sectors in July, is more marked for services. Moreover, the levels reached by the indices remain historically low except for construction, where the index returns to its historically high levels. high levels recorded at the beginning of 2018 ", underlines Istat himself in the commentary on the data accompanying the note.
In detail, in industry the manufacturing sector index rises from 80.2 to 85.2 and in construction it increases from 124.0 to 129.7. For the services sector, there is "a marked rise" both in market services (from 52.1 to 65.8) and in retail trade (the index goes from 79.6 to 86.3).
Looking at the individual components, both the judgments on orders and production expectations improve in manufacturing. Stocks of finished products are expected to decrease compared to last month. For construction, the increase is driven by a "decisive improvement" in the opinions on orders which, however, are joined by "a worsening of expectations on employment at the company". In commerce, on the other hand, there is a marked increase in both opinions and expectations on sales.
As for consumers, if the components relating to confidence in the economy in general and in the future decline (from 87.1 to 85.7 and from 105.6 to 104.2 respectively), while the personal component is growing, closely linked to the family, (from 104.5 to 105.2); and the current one, which refers to the current situation, (from 96.4 to 97.3).
