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Sentiment Sees Little January Relief

BELGIUM
MNI (London)

BELGIUM JAN BNB BUSINESS SENTIMENT -13.5; DEC -13.6

  • Belgian business confidence stabilised at -13.5 in the BNB January survey, a marginal 0.1-point improvement on December. Upticks in services and manufacturing outlooks were outweighed by struggling construction and trade business climate.
  • The indicator has been deeply pessimistic since September. The minimal January uptick is weaker than moves seen in the most recent German data.
  • Order books were recorded as more pessimistic, although increased demand and employment outlooks imply that the sector is looking to find its feet in coming months. Quarterly capacity utilisation showed a sharp contraction since July and slid a further 0.9 points from October to 75.3% in January.
  • High interest rates are hitting the construction sector particularly hard, with investment demand is set to weaken further.

Source: BNB

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