Consumer confidence in recession-hit Italy dropped to a new low this month, Istat said on Wednesday. The national statistics agency said its consumer-confidence index has fallen to 86.5 points from 88.8 in April, when it had hit its lowest level since Istat started measuring the public\'s level of optimism about the economic situation in January 1996. Consumer confidence is important because people tend to spend less if they are pessimistic about the economic climate, which makes it harder for the economy to return to growth.