Netherlands: Business confidence falls again in July
Business confidence came in at 0.1 in July, down from June’s 1.0. July’s result marked the weakest reading since February 2021. Despite the downtick, the index remained above the 0-threshold, indicating optimism among businesses.
Manufacturers became less optimistic about their order positions and output expectations for the next three months. That said, they were less negative regarding the situation of their current stocks. Looking at specific subsectors, confidence in the electrotechnical and machinery industry moderated but remained the highest, ahead of transport equipment producers, whose confidence fell sharply during the month. Meanwhile, timber and building materials producers remained the most pessimistic, followed by petroleum producers. More positively, producers in the paper and printing sectors became significantly less pessimistic during the month.