Milan's business district skyline is seen from Duomo's Cathedral downtown Milan, Italy , January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s economy is likely to remain weak, with confidence amongst consumers and businesses receding, national statistics bureau ISTAT said on Friday, citing its leading indicator for August.

“The recent deterioration (of confidence indices) and the high instability of the economic situation have been reflected in the trend of the leading indicator, which marked a broad decline, suggesting a continuation of the weak phase of economic activity,” ISTAT said.

The euro zone’s third largest economy has been largely stagnant for the last five quarters. Gross domestic product was flat in the second quarter on a quarter-on-quarter and dipped 0.1% on a year-on-year basis, recent data showed.