Italy's consumer confidence strengthened for the first time in five months, while?business?morale fell to the weakest level in just over two-and-a-half years, survey results from the statistical office Istat showed on Wednesday.
Consumer sentiment rose to 103.6 in November from 101.6 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to rise to 102.0.
Among components, the index measuring the personal climate climbed notably to 101.2 from 98.6, and the current climate index improved to 99.8 from 97.4.
The economic sentiment of consumers increased somewhat, from 110.5 in October to 110.5 in November.
Data also showed that the composite business confidence index fell to a 31-month low of 103.4 in November from 103.9 in the prior month.
Among components, the construction confidence index fell to 161.3 from 163.8, and that in market services dropped to 96.4 from 98.0.
At the same time, the index measuring confidence among manufacturers rose to 96.6 from 96.1. The expected score was 96.
