According to a report released this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (Istat) on its official website, there is a general improvement in opinions among consumers, especially on the personal and current situation.

In this sense, the economic climate increases from 102.3 to 103.9, while the personal climate grew from 93.8 to 96.3; the current climate rose from 96.3 to 99.0, while the future climate went from 95.7 to 97.4, the document states.

As for companies, the confidence index fell in industry, from 87.0 to 86.7 in the manufacturing industry, as well as in construction where the decline was from 103.3 to 101.9, but increased in services, with an increase in market services from 98.0 to 100.6 and growth in retail trade from 101.5 to 102.3.

Istat specialists consider, in summary, that in September 2024 business confidence increased for the second consecutive month thanks to the good performance of services.

In particular, they highlighted the improvement in confidence in the transport and storage sectors, tourism services and business services, while in retail trade, a positive evolution of confidence is only observed in large-scale distribution.

The consumer confidence index also registered a favorable trend, as all the variables that compose it showed a positive trend, with the exception of unemployment expectations, which worsened, the source adds.

ef/ro/ort