Italy business morale weakens in February but consumers more upbeat

ROME -Morale among Italian businesses and consumers moved in opposite directions in February, data showed on Thursday, offering little clarity over the prospects for the euro zone's third largest economy.

National statistics institute ISTAT's composite business morale index, combining surveys of the manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors, fell to 94.8 in February from 95.7 the previous month.

Only the manufacturing sector saw a marginal improvement in February, rising to 87.0 - in line with the median forecast in a Reuters survey of analysts - from 86.8 in January.

Consumer confidence rose this month to 98.8 from 98.2 in January, ISTAT said, beating a forecast of 98.4 in Reuters' poll.

Recent Italian economic data has been mostly weak.

Industrial output was much softer than expected in December, while gross domestic product stagnated for a second straight quarter at the end of 2024.

The outlook is clouded by geopolitical tensions, the prospect of U.S. trade tariffs and the difficulties faced by Rome in deploying COVID-19 pandemic recovery funds received from the European Union.

ISTAT will issue fully year 2024 GDP data on March 3, with growth expected at around 0.5-0.7%.

Most analysts expect a similar sluggish performance in 2025, well below the government's target of 1.2%.

(Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Gavin Jones, graphic by Stefano Bernabei)

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