The January Istat data on confidence in the various sectors of the Italian economy show multiple negative changes: the most consistent drop concerns market service companies, standing at 76,4 compared to 80,2 in December 2011.
The retail trade also shows a strong decrease in confidence, by around 4 points, going from 81,7 to 78,4.
In services, the negative variation is conveyed by expectations on the general economic situation of the country and on business trends. Expectations on employment remained unchanged and those on the dynamics of selling prices and the level of orders were positive. As far as the retail trade is concerned, confidence falls in all types of sales: a drop of about 4 points in traditional distribution and 2 points for large-scale distribution.
Less pessimistic data concern the manufacturing sector: a slight decrease, equal to 0,4 points, divided equally between the capital goods and consumer goods sectors. The only positive variation, of 0,8, is recorded in the intermediate goods sector. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the share of operators who find the presence of obstacles to production activity did not change, settling at 44%.
Within the not very comforting data provided by Istat, the confidence climate for the construction sector stands out positively, equal to 2 points, driven by the performance of civil engineering.
