Business confidence in Italy increased notably in July from the previous month, and to a larger extent than economists had forecast, latest data showed Monday.

The seasonally adjusted business confidence index, which refers to manufacturers' assessment of their business conditions, advanced to 91.7 in July from the previous month's revised score of 90.5, statistical office Istat said.

Economists expected the index to move up to 91 from June's originally reported 90.2. In May, the reading was 88.8.

Among sub-sectors, entrepreneurs in the construction sector were more upbeat about their businesses in July. The corresponding indicator advanced to 76.5 from 71.1 a month earlier. Similarly, the measure of confidence in the market services sector moved up to 75.6 from 70.7.

Italian retailers were more confident in July about the prospects of their businesses than in June, with the corresponding indicator rising to 82.1 from 80.9 in the previous month.