According to the survey conducted between 23 May and 14 June 2022 among Italian industrial and service firms with 50 or more employees, opinions regarding the general economic situation in the second quarter of 2022 remain unfavourable, while the deterioration in firms' expectations of their own operating conditions in the next three months has slowed. The main obstacles to economic growth continue to be the uncertainty about economic and political factors, developments in commodity prices, and international trade tensions. Firms indicate that the war in Ukraine has impacted their business through the rise in the prices of energy and intermediate goods, together with difficulties in sourcing the latter. Nonetheless, demand has strengthened, thanks to the recovery reported by service companies, which are benefiting from the lifting of the restrictions introduced to curb the pandemic; these positive developments are expected to continue in the coming months.
Firms' opinions on investment conditions remain pessimistic, though less so, but their plans continue to point to an expansion in investment spending in 2022 compared with 2021.The employment outlook for the next three months remains on the upside.
Consumer price inflation expectations have risen further, to above 5 percent over a twelve-month horizon and to high levels in the longer term as well. The dynamics of firms' selling prices will likely also remain strong over the next twelve months, confirming the growth rates recorded in the last survey.
