Business confidence in Dutch industry fell to -1.1 in February 2026, returning to pessimism after a brief positive reading of 0.8 in January. Expected activity weakened to 7.0 from 12.7, while order position assessments deteriorated to -6.5 from -5.4. Stock judgments improved slightly to -3.9 from -4.8, indicating somewhat lower inventory pressure. By sector, confidence remained negative in several industries, including food and beverages (-3.5 vs 0.6), paper and graphic industries, refineries and chemistry, and basic metals, which saw a sharp deterioration (-5.5 vs 0.1). The textile, clothing, and leather sector also stayed in negative territory but improved (-7.0 vs -10.4), while transportation equipment slipped into contraction (-1.3 vs 0.0). Meanwhile, confidence was positive in wood and building materials (1.1 vs -1.1), as well as in electrical engineering and machinery(5.9 vs 5.3). Other industry and repair also remained positive, though sentiment eased to 1.6 from 6.0. source: Statistics Netherlands

Business Confidence in Netherlands decreased to -1.10 points in February from 0.80 points in January of 2026. Business Confidence in Netherlands averaged -1.76 points from 1985 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 10.50 points in October of 2021 and a record low of -31.50 points in April of 2020. This page provides - Netherlands Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Netherlands Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2026.

Business Confidence in Netherlands decreased to -1.10 points in February from 0.80 points in January of 2026. Business Confidence in Netherlands is expected to be 1.50 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Netherlands Business Confidence is projected to trend around -1.70 points in 2027, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-01-29 06:15 AM
Business Confidence
Jan 0.8 -1.1
2026-02-27 05:30 AM
Business Confidence
Feb -1.1 0.8 1
2026-03-31 04:30 AM
Business Confidence
Mar -1.1 1.5


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Bankruptcies 287.00 341.00 Companies Jan 2026
Business Confidence -1.10 0.80 points Feb 2026
Capacity Utilization 77.10 77.40 percent Dec 2025
Changes in Inventories -1131.00 -93.00 EUR Million Dec 2025
Industrial Production 3.00 1.70 percent Dec 2025
Industrial Production Mom 0.60 -0.80 percent Dec 2025
Manufacturing Production YoY 1.30 0.40 percent Dec 2025
Manufacturing Production MoM 0.50 -1.00 percent Dec 2025
Mining Production 18.60 12.90 percent Dec 2025


Netherlands Business Confidence
In Netherlands, the producer confidence survey covers 1,700 manufacturing companies and gathers up-to-date information on economic developments for all activities of the manufacturing industry. The survey covers three components: how companies evaluate their order positions, their stocks of finished products in the month under review and the anticipated economic activity for the next three months. The index is calculated as the percentage of positive answers minus the percentage of negative answers. Therefore, the indicator varies from -100 (all participants evaluate their situation as poor and expect it to become worse) to 100 (all companies are happy with current situation and expect it to improve); 0 indicates neutrality.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-1.10 0.80 10.50 -31.50 1985 - 2026 points Monthly

News Stream
Dutch Business Confidence Turns Negative Again
Business confidence in Dutch industry fell to -1.1 in February 2026, returning to pessimism after a brief positive reading of 0.8 in January. Expected activity weakened to 7.0 from 12.7, while order position assessments deteriorated to -6.5 from -5.4. Stock judgments improved slightly to -3.9 from -4.8, indicating somewhat lower inventory pressure. By sector, confidence remained negative in several industries, including food and beverages (-3.5 vs 0.6), paper and graphic industries, refineries and chemistry, and basic metals, which saw a sharp deterioration (-5.5 vs 0.1). The textile, clothing, and leather sector also stayed in negative territory but improved (-7.0 vs -10.4), while transportation equipment slipped into contraction (-1.3 vs 0.0). Meanwhile, confidence was positive in wood and building materials (1.1 vs -1.1), as well as in electrical engineering and machinery(5.9 vs 5.3). Other industry and repair also remained positive, though sentiment eased to 1.6 from 6.0.
2026-02-27
Dutch Business Confidence Turns Positive
Business confidence in the Netherlands’ manufacturing sector rose to 0.8 in January 2026, turning positive for the first time since March 2023, from -1.1 in December. Expectations for business activity strengthened, with expected production rising to 12.7 from 9.6. Sentiment toward order books also improved, as assessments became less negative at -5.4 compared with -6.0 previously, while pessimism over finished goods inventories eased further to -4.8 from -6.9. At the sector level, producers in other industries and repair were the most positive in January, followed by electrical engineering and machinery and transportation equipment, where confidence either improved sharply or remained resilient. Sentiment also strengthened in basic metals and metal products, supported by a firmer activity outlook and improved order positions. By contrast, confidence remained weakest in the textile, clothing and leather sector.
2026-01-29
Dutch Business Sentiment Improves in December
Business confidence in the Netherlands rose to -1.1 in December 2025 from a three-month-low of -1.7 in the previous month and above its 20-year average of -1.3. Manufacturers’ pessimism over finished goods inventories softened slightly, easing to -6.9 from -7, while the negative outlook for order books improved (-6 vs -7.7). In addition, Optimism for expected production over the next three months remained steady at 9.6, unchanged from November. The overall outlook strengthened across more than half of the underlying sectors. Producers in the transportation equipment industry were the most positive, followed by firms in other industries and the repair sector. Sentiment also recovered in the basic metals and metal production industries. In contrast, producers in the wood and building materials sector were the most pessimistic.
2026-01-09