Consumer and business confidence - September 2026

In September, the consumer confidence worsened from 94.5 to 91.2.

Regarding the business confidence climate, the index (IESI, Istat Economic Sentiment Indicator) shrank from 97.0 to 95.9. 

The manufacturing confidence climate rose from 90.2 to 91.9. Assessments on order-book showed signs of improvement, while negative indications came from expectations on production (the related balances moved from -19.6 to -13.5 and from 9.6 to 8.9, respectively). Inventory levels remained essentially unchanged (the balance went from 3.8 to 3.9).

The construction confidence climate sank from 102.8 to 97.5. The pessimism concerned both assessments on order-book volume and expectations on employment (the balances of the variables fell from -4.1 to -10.9 and from 10.0 to 6.1, respectively).

The market service confidence climate worsened from 99.4 to 96.9. Opinions of surveyed firms were less favourable, with respect to the previous month, about all variables composing the index. More specifically, the balances of both assessments and expectations on order-book volume decreased from 3.6 to 2.0 and from 7.9 to 5.3, respectively, while the balance of assessments on current business activity declined from 6.9 to 3.0.

The retail trade confidence climate slackened from 106.5 to 104.5 backed by pessimism about future developments in sales (the corresponding balance reduced drastically passing from 32.9 to 22.9). By contrast, opinions on current business activity showed positive signals and level of inventories was getting thinner (the related balances moved from 16.5 to 19.2 and from 8.3 to 7.4, respectively).