- Prior 49.5
- Composite PMI 49.6
- Prior 48.9
Italian business activity stabilised in the final month of the year amid a marginal rise in demand conditions, with the first uplift in new business being reported since June. That said, the overall outlook remains challenging as cost pressures are still high from a historical perspective. S&P Global notes that:
"Italy's service sector registered broadly stable activity levels in December, with the respective seasonally adjusted index posting only a hair below the 50.0 no-change mark.
"Notably, inflows of new business rose for the first time since June, amid reports of improved client demand, though gains came primarily from the domestic market as new export work declined sharply. Elsewhere, the final month of the year highlighted ongoing spare capacity, as outstanding business fell again , linked to lower sales in prior months.
"Whilst the improvement in demand provided welcome news following a challenging fourth quarter of 2022 for the services sector, at this still weak level of growth - and combined with sustained weakness in manufacturing - the Italian economy is still clearly facing challenges as we enter 2023."
/EUR