2016.05.2709:00:00UTC+00Italy’s Business, Consumer Confidence Decline on Concern Over Recovery in Euro Zone

Italy’s May business and consumer confidence declined over concern of recovery in the Euro zone’s third-largest economy, signaling thoughts of pessimism among investors.

The manufacturing-sentiment index declined to 102.1 from 102.7 in April, the Rome-based national statistics agency Istat said on Friday. Consumer confidence fell to 112.7, the lowest since August, Istat added. However, economists polled by Bloomberg had predicted both indices to rise.

Meanwhile, Italy’s gross domestic product is forecast to expand 1.1 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

"Risks are tilted to the downside, including from financial market volatility, Brexit, the refugee surge, and headwinds from the slowdown in global trade," the IMF report added.

Confindustria, the country’s biggest business lobby maintained pessimism over the growth of the economy, which grew only 0.3 percent in the first quarter.  Earlier in the week Istat reported disappointing data for both industrial sales and orders in March, with the former recording the biggest drop on annual basis since August 2013, Bloomberg reported.