The confidence of Italian consumers remains stable and very low, remaining on the 91,6 reached in December, which is also the lowest value reached since 1996, i.e. when the series of surveys began.
On the other hand, confidence in France is growing, rising from 80 to 81 in the last month (a figure better than analysts' expectations, but still low, in an absolute perspective) and above all in Germany where the Gfk consumer confidence index, referring to the month of February, rose for the fifth consecutive month, going from 5,7 to 5,9 (also in this case a figure higher than expected), the highest level since last April, yet another proof of the state of health of the leading European economy. Above all, it impresses the data on the propensity to purchase, shot up from 27,4 to 41,8.
By taking a closer look and breaking down the Italian data, produced by Istat, we discover the drop in the index relating to the economic component (from 77,1 to 75,3) and the slight improvement of that referred to the personal situation of respondents (from 97,3 to 97,9).
The short-term forecast index also fell (from 82,5 to 78,4), against an improvement in confidence relating to the current situation (from 98,4 to 102,3). Expectations on the general performance of the Italian economy worsen (from -56 to -67) e unemployment expectations grow significantly (from 87 to 97).
The balance relating to prospective assessments of savings also decreased (from -85 to -94), while, despite the improvement in that on the convenience of purchasing durable goods (from -99 to -88), purchasing intentions show a clear deterioration (from -58 to -68). With regard to consumer prices, the balance of the assessments on the recent evolution increases from 65 to 69 and that on the evolution in the next twelve months decreases from 58 to 57.
Consumer confidence climate it improves in the North-West and in the South and worsens in the North-East and in the Centre.
