Italy's economy will likely slow over the coming months after stagnating between July and September, according to the latest report from the country's national statistics bureau, ISTAT.

Within its monthly economic bulletin, ISTAT said consumer confidence in Italy declined for the fourth consecutive month in October, whilst business morale fell in all sectors, with the exception of construction.

The data "suggests the Italian economy could slow down in coming months," according to ISTAT.

Furthermore, at the end of last week, the national statistics bureau said Italy's industrial output was stagnant last month compared to September. Data from the Bank of Italy revealed banks' lending to businesses declined by 6.7% year-on-year in September, the largest decline on record, Reuters reports.

Residents' deposits at Italian banks continued to edge down in September, although at a slower rate, falling 3.5% annually following a 5.4% fall in August.

Whereas deposits stood at €2.44 trillion in September, a rise from €2.42 trillion in August.

Moreover, Italy's GDP stood flat between July and September compared to the second quarter, as per a preliminary ISTAT forecast last week. This follows on from a 0.4% contraction in Q2.

Giorgia Meloni's government is officially forecasting GDP growth for the full year at 0.8% in 2023, a steep slowdown compared to the 3.7% rate registered last year.

The Italian government expects growth to be marginally stronger in 2024 at 1.2%, exceeding the predictions from the majority of independent forecasters, the Reuters report adds.