Gets better the confidence climate of Italian companies in July. The index elaborated by Istat rose from 76,4 points in June to 79,6. The increase, according to the report, reflects "the improvement in confidence that is widespread in all the economic sectors under investigation: from manufacturing and construction companies to those in the retail trade and market services".
As regards manufacturing companies, the index went from 90,5 in June to 91,7. Assessments on order books and production expectations improve from -39 to -37 and from -2 to 0. The balance relating to assessments on inventories goes from 1 to 0. The same goes for the main industrial groupings: consumer goods from 91,3 to 92,8, intermediate goods from 89,8 to 90,8 and capital goods from 91,1 to 92,5.
The construction company index also leapt from 71,1 in June to 76,5. Both assessments on construction orders and/or plans and expectations on employment improve (the balances increase from -56 to -52 and from -27 to -20, respectively).
The survey then shows the clear growth in the climate of confidence in market services companies, which rises from 70,7 in June to 75,6. The improvement in retail trade was also less marked, but consistent: the relative index went from 80,9 to 82,1, thanks to the leap forward in traditional distribution, while large-scale distribution fell back.
