Italy saw improvement in business and consumer sentiment in May

Thursday's data showed that Italian business and consumer sentiment rebounded in May after a recent slump. According to Reuters analysts, this suggests the possibility of more sustainable growth in the eurozone's third-largest economy.

The ISTAT composite business sentiment index, which aggregates survey responses from Italian companies in the manufacturing, retail, construction, and service sectors, increased from 91.6 in April to 93.1 this month. This was the first rise after three consecutive months of declines. Sentiment recovered in all business sectors except construction.

ISTAT reported that consumer confidence in Italy jumped to 96.5 in May, up from 92.7 the previous month, ending two consecutive months of deterioration.

Preliminary data showed that the country's economy grew by 0.3% in the first quarter compared to the previous three months. This performance slightly exceeded expectations amid the government halving its GDP growth forecast for this year to 0.6% due to growing trade uncertainty. On Friday, ISTAT will publish the finalized data on this indicator.