Among the aggregate components, the largest contribution came from the change in inventories (plus 0.4 percentage points [pps]), while the contribution from net foreign demand was negative (minus 0.3 pps) due to a more significant decline in exports compared to imports of goods and services.

Seasonally-adjusted industrial production in the country showed a new contraction in July, following increases in the previous two months. It fell by 0.9 per cent QoQ and 3.2 per cent year on year (YoY).

On an average, from May to July, there was a decline in production levels of 0.4 per cent compared to the previous three months. Except for energy (plus 2.3 per cent), the decline in July affected all major categories of goods, albeit less pronounced for intermediate goods (minus 0.7 per cent), capital goods (minus 1.2 per cent) and durable consumer goods (minus 1.3 per cent).

Business confidence improved in August following four months of decline, while consumer confidence worsened after three months of increase, driven by a deterioration in all components of the index, an Istat release said.

Opinions about the overall and personal economic situation, both current and future, deteriorated; expectations regarding the prospective saving capacity also worsened significantly.

However, the confidence of manufacturing firms continued to decline in August, particularly regarding assessments of orders and production expectations.

Goods exports in value, which had recorded a QoQ decline in Q1 2024, remained overall unchanged in Q2. Direct sales to EU markets continued to decrease in the quarter.

Overall, in the first six months of the year, exports decreased by 1.1 per cent YoY, while imports fell by 7.4 per cent. For both exports and imports, the decline in value was accompanied by a contraction in the sales volumes of Italian products.

In July this year, a positive QoQ change in retail sales was estimated in value (plus 0.5 per cent) and volume (plus 0.3 per cent). In the May-July 2024 quarter, there was an increase in retail sales in value (plus 0.3 per cent) and stability in volume compared to the February-April quarter.

The upward trend in employment continued in July, with the number of employed in the month exceeding 24 million for the first time since the beginning of the series. The employment rate (62.3 per cent) rose by 0.1 pps compared to June.

Unemployment in July saw a significant decrease compared to the previous month, particularly among women and individuals of all age groups. Finally, the inactivity rate increased to 33.3 per cent (plus 0.2 pps) compared to June.

Consumer inflation in Italy is rising in the summer months. The YoY dynamics of the consumer price index (CPI) was 1.3 per cent in July and 1.1 per cent in August (preliminary data), up from the previous months (plus 0.8 per cent from April to June).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)