Consumer and business confidence have increased sharply this month, Istat said on Monday, ANSA reported. The national statistics agency said its consumer-confidence index for September was 112.7 points, compared to 109.3 in August. It is necessary to go back to March 2002, when the index stood at 114.4 points, to find a higher level. The business-confidence index stood at 106.2 points, compared to 103.9 last month. That is the highest since it stood at 107.1 points in November 2007.