Italian Consumer Morale Falls to 7-Month Low

The consumer confidence index in Italy edged up to 96.8 in January 2026 from 96.6 in the previous month, but missing market expectations of 97. This was the highest reading since October 2025, supported by improved expectations for the general economic situation, including unemployment, as well as better assessments of personal financial conditions and more favorable views on the opportunity to save. Increases were seen in all main components: the economic climate (97.4 vs 97 in December), the personal climate (96.6 vs 96.4), the current climate (100.1 vs 100.2), and the future climate (92.3 vs 91.6).

The Italian consumer confidence index rose to 96.6 in December 2025, picking up from a seven-month low of 95 in the previous month and coming in slightly above market expectations of 96. The improvement was driven mainly by a rise in the personal climate index to 96.4 from 94.5 in November, alongside stronger views on the current climate, with the index climbing to 100.2 from 98.6. Moreover, the future climate index rose to 91.6 from 90.2, while the economic climate index increased slightly to 97 from 96.5. On the other hand, households’ assessments of saving opportunities and unemployment expectations continued to deteriorate. The improvement in consumer confidence came amid ongoing economic fragility in Italy, as ISTAT now expects the economy to grow by only 0.5% in 2025, slightly down from its June forecast of 0.6%. Moreover, the government has also scaled back its outlook, now targeting 0.5% growth in 2025, from its 2024 estimate of 0.7%.

The Italian consumer confidence index fell to 95 in November 2025, compared to market expectations and the previous month’s figure of 97.6. This marked the lowest reading since April, signaling a broad deterioration in sentiment among households. The personal climate index dropped to 94.5 from 97 in October, the consumer economic climate fell to 96.5 from 99.3, the current climate index slipped to 98.6 from 100.2, while the future climate index decreased to 90.2 from 94.1. Meanwhile, assessments of saving opportunities and unemployment expectations also continued to deteriorate.