ITALY

摘要

Despite Q2 GDP contracting by 0.5% (q-o-q), consumerand producer sentiment surveys have continued to improve across Italy. The ISAE survey for producer confidence rose from 72.4 in July to 74.8 in August, while the purchasing manager's index (PMI)forservices and its composite measure made similar gains. This came on the back of news that Germany and France, two of Italy's major trading partners, emerged from recession in Q2, earlier than had been expected. It is anticipated that recovery in these two countries could spill over into Italy by stimulating demand for exports, which have waned in the face of global recession (down a further 14% q-o-q in Q2, for example).