Morale amongst Italian businesses rose in March, but consumers were more gloomy, data showed on Thursday.

National statistics institute ISTAT's manufacturing confidence index rose to 88.6 this month from an upwardly revised 87.5 in February, against a median forecast of 87.6 in a Reuters survey of seven analysts. The February figure was previously given as 87.3.

ISTAT's composite business morale index, combining surveys of the manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors, rose to 97.0 from a revised 95.9, with sentiment climbing in all four segments. The February figure was previously given as 95.8.

However, consumer confidence this month dropped to 96.5 from 97.0 in February, compared with a median forecast of 97.5 in the Reuters' poll.

"The drop in the index was mainly caused by a worsening of both assessments of the household economic overview (including the household budget) and of the opportunity to purchase durable goods in the current timeframe," ISTAT said.

Italy's economy has recovered more strongly from a 2020-21 COVID-induced recession than neighbours such as Germany and France, but output slowed sharply last year and analysts say a government growth target of 1.2% for 2024 is overly ambitious.

 

 

ISTAT gave the following data on the March manufacturing confidence survey:

 

MARCH FEB JAN DEC Overall index 88.6 87.5r 88.3r 87.3r Orders level -16.7 -18.0r -16.9r -18.1 Inventories 3.2 3.7r 4.0 5.4 Output outlook 1.0 -0.5r 1.0r 0.5r

r=revised

-- Reporting by Crispian Balmer crispian.balmer@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: crispian.balmer.reuters.com@reuters.net