BRUSSELS: Belgium’s business confidence index rose in June to its highest level since July 2011, the country’s central bank said Wednesday, as sentiment in the services sector improved significantly.
The overall business confidence index in June reached -3.9, compared with May’s reading of -4.9.
The central bank said confidence in the services sector rose to 13.1 points from 9.4 points last month. Executives in this sector said that both current conditions were stronger and that they expected a further expansion of demand in coming months.
There was a slight improvement in confidence within the manufacturing and building sectors this month, but sentiment in the trade sector soured significantly in June to -13.8 in June from -1.8 in May. That’s the lowest level since early 2015, the bank said.
Belgium’s economy has registered modest growth in recent quarters, while inflation remains subdued.
