In August, an increase is estimated in both consumer confidence (the index grows from 94.2 to 94.5) and in the composite indicator of business confidence which rises from 95.7 to 96.9. Istat finds it.
«In August 2026 – the institute observes in the comment – business confidence increases, driven by an overall improvement in the assessments expressed by entrepreneurs operating in market services, construction and the capital goods manufacturing sector. The increase in expectations on the level of activity in retail trade also contributes to the positive evolution of the index. The consumer confidence index is growing for the second consecutive month. The increase is supported by the improvement of opinions on both the general economic situation and the personal one, by the decrease in expectations on unemployment as well as by an increase in the balance of opinions on the possibility of saving in the future”.
Consumers
Among consumers, an improvement in the economic climate emerges (from 90.9 to 92.3) while the current and future climate record more modest increases (from 97.4 to 97.8 and from 89.8 to 90.2, respectively); the personal climate remains stable at 95.4.
Businesses, the leap in construction
With reference to businesses, we note an improvement in confidence, albeit with different intensity, in all sectors. More specifically, the most significant increases were recorded in market services and, above all, in construction (from 98.2 to 99.5 and from 96.8 to 102.9, respectively); in manufacturing the indicator increases slightly (from 89.7 to 89.9) and in retail trade it records a marginal increase (from 106.5 to 106.6).
The components of the indices
As for the components of the confidence indices, in manufacturing the worsening of opinions on orders and inventories of finished products is combined with a marked improvement in expectations on the level of production. In construction both variables improve.
Moving on to the market services sector, a positive dynamic is highlighted in all components. In retail trade, there is a positive trend in sales expectations, determined by large-scale distribution, while the related opinions worsen; the balance of inventory assessments increases.