Netherlands: Consumer sentiment improves in May
Consumer confidence rose to minus 47.0 in May from April’s minus 48.0. As a result, the index remained deeply entrenched in negative territory to highlight prevalent pessimism among consumers.
May’s uptick reflected fractionally less pessimism regarding the economic climate due to less downbeat views on the economy in the next 12 months. Willingness to buy also improved marginally, with consumers holding less negative views regarding purchasing big ticket items in the year ahead. This is likely due to an expected ease in inflationary forces later in the year.