Measures of consumer and business confidence in Italy continued to decline in May, the country's National Institute of Statistics said.
The consumer confidence climate index decreased to 113.7 in May from 116.9 in April, with all sub-components constituting economic, personal, current, and future climate declining.
The composite business confidence climate index dropped to 104.7 in May from 105.0 in the prior month as confidence decreased in construction and market services and improved in retail trade.
Manufacturing confidence remained unchanged at 107.7 as production expectations worsened and assessments on order books improved.
The country is at the center of investor attention as fears of fresh elections, possibly sparking a Greek-style confrontation with the eurozone, sent Italian government debt into a tailspin, with stock markets falling across Europe led by plummeting banks.
