L’Istituto nazionale di statistica comunica che nel mese di giugno 2007 l'indice generale del valore delle vendite del commercio fisso al dettaglio, con base 2000=100, è risultato pari a 108,0 con un aumento dello 0,7 per cento rispetto allo stesso mese dell’anno precedente.
Or as Bloomberg put it:
Italy's economy, the fourth-biggest in Europe, grew at the slowest pace in 1 1/2 years in the second quarter as manufacturing output cooled. This month's rout in financial markets caused by the U.S. subprime crisis that raised the cost of loans has darkened growth prospects. The Italian economy is unlikely to expand at the 2 percent previously forecast, the government said this week.
Actually Bloomberg also collaborate with NTC economics to produce a monthly index based on a survey of more than 1,000 executives. This data is rather more up to date than that produced by ISTAT, but the picture offered is pretty similar, and August was the sixth month in a row that the index gave a reading below 50, a level which indicates contraction.
Again, as Bloomberg put it:
A seasonally adjusted index of retail sales was at 47.8 in August compared with 46.1 in July, according to a survey of 440 retail executives compiled for Bloomberg LP by NTC Economics Ltd. The reading has stayed below 50, the level that signals a contraction in sales, since February. Market turmoil aside, Italy is suffering on other fronts. Tourism, a key contributor to Italian retail sales in the hot summer months, has been ``weaker'' in August, typically a boom month for consumer spending, NTC panelists reported. Twenty-eight percent of retailers surveyed said they missed their sales targets this month, with only 16 percent reporting they beat their expectations. Looking ahead, 21 percent expect to beat their September targets.
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