Italian November Business Confidence Rises to Two-Year High
Italian business confidence unexpectedly rose to the highest in more than two years as executives shared consumers’ optimism that the country’s economic recovery may gain momentum after slowing in the third quarter.
The Isae institute’s manufacturing-sentiment index climbed to 101.6 in November, the highest since March 2008, from a revised 100.1 in October, the research center said in a statement from Rome today. Economists had predicted a reading of 99.5, according to the median of 11 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.
The recovery in the euro region gathered pace last month for the first time since April as industrial output increased, the Eurocoin index coproduced by the London-based Center for Economic Policy Research and the Bank of Italy showed on Oct.29. Italian Consumer confidence unexpectedly advanced to the highest in 10 months as households grew optimistic about the economic outlook, Isae said in a separate report on Nov. 23.
The recovery in the euro-region’s third-biggest economy slowed in the third quarter as weaker foreign demand hurt exports and rising unemployment weighed on consumer spending. In October, Turin-based Fiat SpA led a seventh consecutive monthly drop in European car sales as demand waned after the expiration of state-sponsored incentives.
Italian businesses and consumer confidence this month mirrored optimism amid executives in Europe’s biggest economy. The Munich-based Ifo institute said yesterday its business- climate index unexpectedly increased to the highest since records for a reunified Germany began two decades ago.
Isae polled 4,000 companies between Nov. 2 and Nov. 18. Isae originally reported business confidence at 99.8 in October.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at ltotaro@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Fraher at jfraher@bloomberg.net
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