Consumer confidence in Italy

Italy's Consumer Confidence is the households' sentiment index produced by ISTAT from a monthly survey. It measures families' views on the general economic situation and on their own finances, both current and expected, and leads private consumption.

ISTAT surveys a representative sample of Italian households each month about the country's economic situation, their own finances, unemployment, their ability to save and buying intentions. The balance of replies is summarised in a seasonally adjusted index, with 2010 set to 100.

Rising confidence points to stronger household spending and, as consumption is the largest component of Italian GDP, it anticipates the direction of the economy. Markets track it as a leading indicator of domestic demand.

It is a sentiment survey subject to sampling error; stated confidence does not always translate into actual spending and can be swayed by one-off factors such as energy prices or political uncertainty.