Companies active in the manufacturing industry showed a slight decline in confidence in the economy in July. They are particularly gloomy about the expected activity and the order book.
That reports the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Producer confidence stood at 6.3 in July. Yet confidence is still well above the average of the past twenty years, or 0.8. In February of this year, producer confidence peaked at 10.9.
Not a single sector within the product industry was negative about the economy. The wood and building materials industries are the most positive with a score of 21.1, while the food and beverage industry is the least positive with a score of 2.5.
CBS also made known that producers' selling prices increased in June. The selling prices of Dutch industry were 5 percent higher in June than in June 2017. The price increase of crude oil in particular played a role in this.
Nederlands