Italian consumer confidence improves in January

The mood among Italian consumers was more buoyant at the start of the year as the perception of their personal circumstances improved markedly.

Italian consumer confidence jumped from 117.7 in December to 118.9 in January, according to the country´s statistics office, ISTAT.

A sub-index linked to how Italians judged their own situation jumped from 104.5 to 107.6.

Economic conditions also improved with a sub-index tracking their opinions rising from 153.0 to 153.5.

Sub-indices linked to Italians´ ability to save and whether now was a good time to purchase durable goods both improved, from 125 to 133 and from -36 to -21, respectively.