Istat, business and consumer confidence falls – AGI – Agenzia Journalistic Italy

Rome – Cala confidence of consumers and businesses in December. The first index, reports ISTAT, decreases to 117.6 from 118.4 the previous month; the second switch to 105.8 from 107.1 in November. Despite the decline, says the statistics institute, both indices remain at the high levels recorded in previous months. All estimates of the components of the consumer confidence decline: the decline is greater for the current economic components; the difference and ‘rather more’ contained for the personal component. Regarding businesses, the confidence climate in market services while falls in construction, in retail trade and, although more ‘slightly in manufacturing. According to Confcommercio, the data should not give rise to particular concerns because “both indicators are placed, for some months now, particularly high levels and is’ therefore physiological adjustments might encounter some content that does not seem to indicate a deterioration in the prospects for recovery of ‘Italian economy “. According to Codacons, the decline in consumer confidence and ‘due primarily to “Paris”, that the wave of attacks that rocked France on November 14. Critical judgment of Federconsumatori and Adusbef, they consider those Istat “estimates utopian”: “Continue to support that hopefully means remove the need ‘to work for a real and lasting recovery.” Istat today issued a series of figures for 2014, contained in the Statistical Yearbook national analysis shows that last year the employed (22 million 279 thousand) increased by 88,000 units’ on an annual basis (+ 0.4%); in particular, the employment rate of the aged 55-64 and ‘rose to 46.2% (3.5 percentage points more’ than in 2013). In 2014 and ‘even stop the fall in consumption: the average monthly expenditure per household – equal to € 2,488.50 – and’ substantially stable compared to 2013 and the percentage of households that have limited the amount ‘or quality’ of food and ‘dropped from 62.4 to 58.7%. Istat also notes the decline in the last year of a single family home: 71.2% against 73.4% in 2013; 19.3% pay a mortgage, compared with 16.6% in 2013. Growth, finally, the number of households living in rented homes, from 16.7 to 18.7%. (AGI)

(29 December 2015)