Consumer spending plunges in April, but confidence is up slightly in June

Photo: DutchNews.nl
Photo: DutchNews.nl

Dutch consumer spending plunged 17% in April, its biggest ever drop, the national statistics agency CBS said on Monday.

Households spent 25% less on services – such as cafes and restaurants, cinemas, theatres and amusement parks – and fuel.  However, spending on food and drink was up 3.6% as people were confined to their homes due to the coronavirus lockdown, the CBS said.

Consumers also spent less on clothes, shoes and cars. ‘But they did spend more on electronic equipment and household goods,’ the CBS said.

The CBS also said on Monday that consumers are less gloomy about the country’s and their own economic prospects in June than they had been in May.

The consumer confidence index has risen by four percentage points to -27 this month. The lowest level the index has ever reached was in March 2013, when it fell to -41.

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