Belgium: Economic sentiment records worst reading since November 2022 in October
Economic sentiment came in at 85.1 in October, down from September’s 88.8. October’s result marked the worst performance since November 2022. As a result, the index remained entrenched below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected declining sentiment in the industrial sector and healthier sentiment in the construction sector. Meanwhile, confidence in the services sector softened in October, while sentiment in the retail sector cooled in the surveyed month. Lastly, consumer confidence cooled in October.
Relating to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations weakened, while the economic uncertainty index fell in October.