Netherlands: Business sentiment rises slightly in December
At the close of the year, sentiment among Dutch manufacturers ticked up marginally. In December, business confidence rose to 2.9 from 2.8 in the prior month. Moreover, the index remained notably above the long-term average of 1.0 and the neutral zero-threshold separating business optimism from pessimism.
The uptick in December came on the heels of increased optimism regarding order books and stocks of finished goods, although a majority of goods-producers considered their stock of finished goods to be too large. On the other hand, views on output turned less upbeat, but the majority of manufacturers continue to expect production to increase in the next three months.