Belgium: Economic sentiment improves in May
The consumer confidence indicator produced by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) rose from minus 26 in April to minus 23 in May. May’s improvement largely reflected less pessimism towards the general economic situation of the country, as well as an improvement in the financial situation of households. On the flipside, concerns over unemployment rose for a third consecutive month.
Similarly, the NBB’s business confidence indicator rose 1.7 points to minus 34.4 in May, thus emerging from April’s all-time low. May’s print reflected improving sentiment in business-related services, following last month’s slump. Meanwhile, sentiment in manufacturing, construction and trade, dipped further.