The confidence of Italian consumers is declining more and more. In July, the index calculated by Istat dropped to 103,7 points from 105,8 in June. "The decrease - explains the statistical institute - is due in particular to the worsening of the future climate and of that on the economic situation, whose indicators drop, respectively, from 93,6 to 87,9 and from 78,3 to 75,1, 120,1. The personal climate also worsened, decreased from 118,8 to 116,2". On the other hand, “opinions relating to the current situation improve, with the index increasing from 117,1 to XNUMX”.
Worsening above all are “short-term forecasts on the economic situation of the country and of families, on the evolution of the labor market and on savings opportunities. Assessments on the current economic situation of Italy and of one's own family remain stable, while assessments on the current convenience of saving improve”. As far as durable goods are concerned, “both judgments on the convenience of immediate purchase and short-term expectations worsen. On the basis of the usual quarterly questions, purchase intentions worsen for all the categories of expenditure treated (car, home and maintenance costs).
The balances of the assessments on the dynamics of consumer prices “mark a moderate decline, while the forecasts on the evolution of inflation show a rise. Confidence worsens, albeit with varying degrees of intensity, in the Centre-South and in the North-West, while it improves in the North-East regions”.
