ROME, Nov 24 - Italian consumer confidence fell in November, after five months of consecutive rises, as people started to take a dimmer view of the overall economy, economic research institute ISAE said on Wednesday.
ISAE's November consumer confidence index fell to 103.9 from 105.6 in October, higher than the median of the third quarter of 2004 but well below the long-term average of 114.
"The decline is mostly due to the worsening view of the country's general economic outlook which dropped from 94.8 to 91.5," ISAE said in a statement.
ISAE, an autonomous body overseen by the Italian Treasury, interviewed 2000 people between Nov. 2 and Nov. 15.
Consumer concerns over inflation increased due to the high oil price, ISAE said. The proportion of people who felt prices had risen a lot in the last year rose to 35 percent compared with 21 percent in October.
The Italian economy has been in the limelight this month with the centre-right government arguing over how to find the resources to pay for long-promised tax cuts.
Earlier this month the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Italy should focus on keeping its debt and deficit in check and put off tax cuts until the medium term.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has blamed Italy's sluggish growth on the restraints of European Union budget RTRS.