Netherlands: Business confidence rises in June

The producer confidence indicator, which measures Dutch manufacturers’ sentiment, rose from 6.1 in May to 7.2 in June, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The indicator thus moved further above the 0-point threshold that separates optimistic from pessimistic sentiment, where it has been since October 2014.

According to the CBS, the improvement reflected producers’ much more positive views regarding order books and future output, while their mood about stocks of finished products hardly changed. Moreover, manufacturers were also positive regarding future employment, with the positive balance between manufacturers who project a rise in employment in the next three months and those who expect staff cuts at the highest level in 27 years. In terms of specific sectors, producers in the textile, clothes and leather industry were the most optimistic, followed by those in the wood and construction industry.

For 2017, FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists see fixed investment growing 3.5%, which is up 0.3 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2018, the panel expects fixed investment to expand 3.1%.