Italy services growth accelerates in September

Italy’s private sector expanded at the same pace as in the previous month during September, though growth in the services industry picked up, according to survey results released Friday by S&P Global.

The Hamburg Commercial Bank Italy Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 52.5 in September from 51.5 in August, staying above the 50.0 threshold that signals expansion in activity.

S&P Global noted that companies attributed the rise in activity to stronger demand, a greater flow of new business, and heightened interest in their offerings.

New orders grew sharply in September, marking the fastest increase since April 2024 and extending the growth streak to eight straight months.

Higher operating and administrative costs pushed firms to raise customer fees again, continuing a nearly four-year-long trend of monthly price hikes. Still, the pace of selling price inflation eased slightly compared with August.

Business confidence remained positive, supported by expectations of continued demand growth and plans to broaden service offerings. Optimism improved from the prior month, though it stayed below the long-run average. Some managers also anticipated that the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics would provide an additional boost.

The services PMI is based on responses from around 400 Italian service-sector firms surveyed between September 11 and 25.

Earlier this week, S&P Global reported that Italy’s manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.0 in September from 50.4 in August.

As a result, the composite PMI—which combines data from both manufacturing and services—held steady at 51.7 in September, unchanged from the previous month.