September 24, 2022
• The decline in the barometer is evident in both industry and business services. By contrast, confidence is recovering in the building industry and, more noticeably, in the trade sector.
In the manufacturing industry, all components of the indicator have got worse, with the exception of demand forecasts. Appraisal of order books, in particular, has dropped significantly. A growing number of entrepreneurs have also taken a less positive view of their stock levels, while forecasts for employment have been revised downwards.
Confidence has continued to dissipate in business-related services. While the overall assessment of current business activity has deteriorated sharply, the outlook for the next three months has improved slightly. Expectations regarding general market demand have remained fairly stable. Meanwhile, the business climate in the building industry has improved, mainly because of a more positive appraisal of order books.
It is in the trade sector where the increase in morale among company managers has been the most visible, coming on the back of three consecutive declines. This renewed optimism stems from better forecasts for demand and, to a lesser extent, for employment too. However, retailers are expecting to place fewer orders with their suppliers. The fall in the overall smoothed synthetic curve, which reflects the underlying cyclical trend, has gained a bit of momentum.
Source: National Bank of Belgium (NBB) Monthly update
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