In August, the service sector in Italy began to grow slowly as inflationary pressures eased somewhat after contracting in the previous month according to the survey. S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for services increased to 50.5 in August after being at 48.4 in July. This rise above 50 separates growth from contraction. The result was above the median forecast of 48.2 according to a Reuters survey, which could help allay fears of a recession in the second half of 2022. The impacts are lower prices from service providers and businesses are stabilizing again. The PMI for Italy's smaller manufacturing sector contracted due to shrinking demand and declining factory production. The composite Purchasing Managers' Index combining services and manufacturing increased by 1.9 from 47.7 in July to 49.6 in August although still showing a small contraction. It can be concluded that the Italian economy grew strongly by 1.1% in the second quarter of this year, but researchers also expect a slowdown for the rest of the year due to soaring energy costs for companies and households.

Source: https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/09/05/italy-economy-pmi#