ROME: Italian consumer morale unexpectedly rose in March to its highest level since July, boosted especially by improving sentiment on family finances, data showed on Monday
National statistics bureau ISTAT's headline consumer confidence index rose to 96.8 from an upwardly revised 94.4 in February.
The result beat the average forecast in a Reuters survey of analysts which pointed to a slight decline to 93.7. Forecasts spanned from 92.0 to 94.6. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti took over from former Premier Silvio Berlusconi in November with Italy on the front line of the euro zone debt crisis and the yield on the 10-ye ar benchmark bond (BTP) close to 7 percent and rising.
Now with the yield on the 10-year benchmark at under 5 percent and concern about a possible default ebbing, sentiment is improving despite the fact thatItalyfell into a techn ical recession in the fourth quarter.
Italy's economy contracted by 0.7 percent in the last three months of 2011 due to a slump in domestic demand and economists do not expect a recovery at least until the second half of 2012.
ISTAT's consumer confidence survey showed the sub-index measuring sentiment on respondents' personal finances rose to 100.1 in March from 97.5, while the index measuring sentiment on the general economic climate rose to 87.4 from 86.8.
The sub-index on the current situation rose to 102.6 from 100.3 and the index on the future outlook increased to 86.3 from 85.9.
Consumer spending has long been an achilles heel of the Italian economy, which has been among the most sluggish in the euro zone for a decade.
Analysts say ISTAT's consumer confidence index shows little immediate correlation with spending patterns, though it does reflect longer term trends.
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