According to the report from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the consumer confidence indicator fell to 100.9 points in January compared to 102.5 points in December. Economists had forecast the index to rise to 102.7 points. Meanwhile, there was an improvement of the economic and the future confidence climate indexes (from 106.3 to 107.6 and from 108.2 to 108.6, respectively), but a significant degeneration of the personal and the current ones (from 101.2 to 98.6, the first and from 98.6 to 95.7, the second).
The data also showed that the economic sentiment indicator rose to 109.1 points from 107.9 points in December. Business confidence index increased to 102.70 points from 101.50 points in December. The confidence index in the construction sector improved to 158.8 from 156.6, while the confidence index in the market services sector rose to 104.2 from 102.4. Meanwhile, the retail sector confidence index fell to 110.3 from 112.4.
Earlier this week, the Italian Central Bank increased its projection for growth in 2022 from 3.8% to 3.9%, despite the fact that it saw a decline in economic activity in the last quarter of the year. As for 2023, GDP is projected to grow by 0.6%. The central bank also expects that inflation, which rose to an average of 8.7% per annum last year, may fall to 6.5% this year, and then continue to decline.