Netherlands: Business confidence inches up in October
Business confidence in the manufacturing sector edged up for the first time in five months in October, with the headline figure increasing to 5.9 from 5.7 in September. The index moved further north of the crucial zero-point mark that separates optimism from pessimism, where it has been for four years, and the result came in markedly above the long-term average of 0.8.
The marginal improvement in sentiment came on the back of more rosy views of future output levels and order books. On the other hand, manufacturers grew less optimistic regarding their stocks of finished products. Positive sentiment has now prevailed in all sub-sectors for nearly two years.