Italy Services Index at 51.7 Points in September Ahead of Retail Data

Key Facts

Italy’s services activity index registered 51.7 points in September 2026, according to the Investing.com calendar, compared with expectations of 54.6 points and a previous reading of 55.2 points in August. The comparison indicates that September’s reading was below both expectations and the previous reading, while remaining above 50 points. S&P Global defines a reading above 50.0 as indicating expansion, while a reading below that level means activity is contracting. By this measure, the index remained in expansion territory in September, although its reading was weaker than in the previous month. Markets are awaiting the release of Italian retail trade data for September on November 5, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics’ official calendar.

S&P Global’s survey of Italy’s services sector is based on responses from a sample of about 450 companies, collected in the second half of each month. The index measures the direction of activity through companies’ responses, with readings interpreted relative to the 50.0 threshold separating expansion from contraction. In April 2026, activity moved closer to stabilisation as the index rose to 49.8 points from 48.8 points in March, but remained below the 50 threshold. These readings indicate that the index improved between March and April without moving into expansion territory under the survey’s definition. September’s data provide a more recent reading of services activity than that spring comparison, while the forthcoming retail data will add an official indicator of consumer demand.

Italian services companies recorded their fastest pace of input cost inflation since early 2023 in April, according to S&P Global. The company said participant reports pointed to multiple sources of cost pressures, particularly energy, fuel and wages. It also reported that the increase in prices charged by companies was slower than the rise in their costs, highlighting the gap between input cost pressures and prices collected from customers that month. In March, Eleanor Dennison, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said input cost inflation had reached its highest level in more than three years. Dennison linked the pressures at the time to fuel, energy, raw materials and wages, and said that "the rate of input price inflation jumped to its highest level in more than three years."