According to the survey conducted between 30 August and 20 September 2018 among Italian firms with 50 or more employees, opinions regarding the current general economic situation and the future outlook worsened further, as did those on firms' operating conditions. Overall assessments of current demand were also less positive, driven by the worsening in the domestic component. Domestic and foreign demand expectations remained stable, despite growing concerns about the impact of protectionist trade measures.
Firms confirmed the growth in their investment plans for 2018 as a whole, albeit to a lesser extent than they had planned at the beginning of the year, influenced by less favorable judgments on investment and credit access conditions. Employment expectations worsened but remained positive overall, buoyed by the expectations of firms in industry excluding construction.
Consumer price inflation expectations increased markedly over all time horizons, driven by the rise in consumer prices over the summer. However, as already noted on previous occasions, this increase was not accompanied by a significant increase in firms' own selling prices.
