Dutch Business Confidence Turns Negative Again

2026-02-27 05:53 By Kyrie Dichosa 1 min. read

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.



News Stream
Dutch Business Mood Steady in April
Business confidence in the manufacturing sector in the Netherlands stood at -0.7 in April 2026, unchanged from the previous month. Order position assessments inched up to -7.1 from -7.2, while sentiment regarding stock levels improved to -3.3 from -4.9 in March. Meanwhile, expected activity declined to 8.4 from 10.1, indicating weaker optimism about near-term production. By sector, sentiment improved in food and beverage (-1.9 vs -4.5), textile, clothing, and leather (-7.9 vs -11.1), paper and graphic products (-4.9 vs -7.6), and refineries and chemicals (-1.6 vs -5.2). On the other hand, these gains were offset as the outlook turned pessimistic in base metals and metal products (-0.8 vs 1.7) and other industry and repair (-1.4 vs 1.3). Sentiment also weakened in transport equipment (1.5 vs 2.7) and electrical engineering and machinery (2.7 vs 4.6).
2026-04-30
Dutch Business Confidence Improves in March
Business confidence in the Netherlands’ manufacturing sector fell to -0.7 in March 2026, easing from -1.1 in the previous month. Expected activity rose to 10.1 from 7.0, indicating optimism about near-term production. In contrast, order position assessments weakened to -7.2 from -6.5, and stock judgments declined to -4.9 from -3.9 in February. By sector, outlook improved in refineries and chemicals (-5.2 vs -5.5), while the base metal and metal products industry (1.7 vs -5.5) and transport equipment (2.7 vs -1.3) moved into positive territory. On the other hand, sentiment weakened further in the textile, clothing, and leather industry (-11.1 vs 7.0), food and beverages (-4.5 vs 3.5), and paper and graphic industry (-7.6 vs -4.2). Outlook also became less optimistic in electrical engineering and machinery (4.6 vs 5.9) and other industry and repair (1.3 vs 1.6).
2026-03-30
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