Belgian Business Confidence Shows Slight Improvement in September

By Ed Frankl

Belgian businesses have experienced a modest improvement in confidence in September, largely due to positive developments in the services sector.

According to data released on Monday by the National Bank of Belgium, the business confidence index rose from -14.9 in August to -14.4 in September. This marks the first increase in six months. However, despite the uptick in the index, it still reflects the overall downward trend of the economy, as it remains below zero.

The positive shift can be attributed to the services sector, which has seen a halt in the sharp decline that persisted throughout the summer. In fact, activity expectations are now on the rise within this sector.

Although the manufacturing industry is still facing challenges, there are signs of stabilization. Business leaders are more optimistic about employment, but remain cautious about demand and concerned about stock levels and order books, as outlined in the survey.

On the other hand, both the construction and trade sectors continue to experience declining sentiment.

While the overall outlook remains negative, there are indications that the economic weakness may be bottoming out. Germany's Ifo index, released earlier on Monday, has shown that business sentiment has stabilized, albeit at a low level. This comes as recent purchasing managers' data improves, offering a glimpse of marginally brighter prospects for the economy.