Overall business sentiment edged down slightly, with the IESI index slipping from 97.7 to 97.4. Manufacturing confidence declined from 89.2 to 88.5 amid concerns over current order books and future production, while inventories rose marginally, with balances moving from -18.1 to -19.3, from 3.2 to 2.7 and from 2.1 to 2.5, respectively.
Italy’s consumer confidence rose to 97.4 in February 2026 from 96.8, while business sentiment slipped slightly.
Manufacturing weakened, but construction and retail trade improved, with retail buoyed by optimism on future activity despite inventory destocking.
Market services eased, pointing to a mixed economic backdrop.
Construction confidence strengthened from 99.9 to 103.1. Firms reported improved employment expectations and better order book assessments, with balances rising from 4.1 to 7.8 and recovering from -4.2 to -1.4, the data showed.
Market services confidence fell from 103.5 to 102.2, mainly due to weaker assessments of order book levels and slightly deteriorated views on current business trends. However, expectations for future order books improved modestly, with balances changing from 10.1 to 6.4, from 11.2 to 10.0 and from 10.0 to 10.8.
The retail trade confidence climate improved from 102.5 to 105.1, driven largely by strong optimism regarding future business volumes. Assessments of current sales were also favourable, despite a new destocking of inventories, with related balances varying from 23.1 to 29.3, from 12.3 to 12.8 and from 7.2 to 5.6, respectively.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JP)