Belgium Consumer Morale Falls in February

The consumer confidence indicator in Belgium dropped to -6 in March 2026 from 1 in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since May last year, driven by a significant worsening in expectations for the economic situation in Belgium, which fell to -45 from -25 in February, the weakest level since 2022. At the same time, fears of unemployment increased sharply, with the indicator rising to -3 from -11, signaling heightened concerns about job security. On a personal level, households became slightly more pessimistic about their financial situation, with the index easing to -3 from -2. Meanwhile, expectations regarding saving capacity remained unchanged at 22, indicating that households are maintaining their savings outlook despite growing economic uncertainty.

Belgium’s consumer confidence indicator fell to 1 in February 2026 from a four-year high of 4 in the previous month. The slowdown was mainly driven by a weaker sentiment regarding the propensity to save (22 vs 26). On the other hand, expectations regarding the economic situation in the country over the next twelve months became less pessimistic, improving to -25 from -29, while concerns about unemployment also eased, improving to -11 from -20. In addition, consumers’ views on their future financial situation remained unchanged at -2.

Belgium's consumer confidence indicator rose sharply to 4 in January 2026, the highest reading since October 2021, compared to -1 in the previous month. The improvement is mainly due to an uptick in households’ saving capacity (26 vs 22) and a sharp decline in concerns about unemployment (-20 vs -9). On the other hand, households are slightly less optimistic about the economic situation in Belgium (-29 vs -28) but somewhat more positive about their own financial situation (-2 vs -3).