Investing.com – Belgian business confidence improved more-than-expected in February, but remained in negative territory for the tenth consecutive month, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the National Bank of Belgium said its business climate index improved by 1.8 points to a seasonally adjusted minus 7.7 in February from a reading of minus 9.5 in January.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 1.0 point to minus 8.5 in February.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The upturn in the business climate hinged entirely on the manufacturing industry, where the improvement was particularly strong.
In this branch of activity, entrepreneurs are expecting a sharp rise in demand. Furthermore, finished product stock levels were considered to be significantly lower than last month.
In the business-related services sector, on the other hand, the economic climate deteriorated considerably, wiping out last month's increase.
Albeit to a lesser extent, company managers active in the construction and trade also showed a loss of confidence.
Indicative of the underlying economic trend, the smoothed overall synthetic curve reached a turning point and is now showing a slight rise.
Following the release of the data, the euro was fractionally higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.03% to trade at 1.3238.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.35%, the FTSE 100 declined 0.3%, while Germany's DAX retreated 0.55%.
In a report, the National Bank of Belgium said its business climate index improved by 1.8 points to a seasonally adjusted minus 7.7 in February from a reading of minus 9.5 in January.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 1.0 point to minus 8.5 in February.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The upturn in the business climate hinged entirely on the manufacturing industry, where the improvement was particularly strong.
In this branch of activity, entrepreneurs are expecting a sharp rise in demand. Furthermore, finished product stock levels were considered to be significantly lower than last month.
In the business-related services sector, on the other hand, the economic climate deteriorated considerably, wiping out last month's increase.
Albeit to a lesser extent, company managers active in the construction and trade also showed a loss of confidence.
Indicative of the underlying economic trend, the smoothed overall synthetic curve reached a turning point and is now showing a slight rise.
Following the release of the data, the euro was fractionally higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.03% to trade at 1.3238.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.35%, the FTSE 100 declined 0.3%, while Germany's DAX retreated 0.55%.