Italy's manufacturing confidence index decreased to 102.1 in January 2019 from a downwardly revised 103.4 in the previous month and below market expectations of 103. It was the weakest reading since September 2016, mainly due to a deterioration in orders level (-10.5 from -9.8 in December) and output expectations (6.8 from 9.4). On the other hand, confidence regarding inventories improved (5.1 from 4.6). Italy's composite business morale index, combining surveys of the manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors, declined to 99.2 in January from a downwardly revised 99.7 in the prior month, recording its lowest level since August 2016. Business Confidence in Italy averaged 102.30 Index Points from 1991 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 121.52 Index Points in February of 1995 and a record low of 71.50 Index Points in March of 2009.
Business Confidence in Italy is expected to be 100.00 Index Points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Business Confidence in Italy to stand at 101.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Italy Business Confidence is projected to trend around 104.00 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.