Dutch consumers are more pessimistic about their finances and the economy than ever before, with the CBS consumer confidence index hitting a record low of -51 in July.

In particular, consumers are gloomy about the economic prospects, with that sub index falling two points to -71. Willingness to make major purchases has also gone down again to -38, the CBS said.

New record low figures were also set in May and June this year as inflation soared because of mounting energy prices.

Almost four in five consumers questioned by the CBS said they believe prices have risen sharply in the past year and 25% expect prices to continuing going up. This, however, is less than the 31% who said they anticipate continuing rising costs in June, the agency points out.

The CBS has been measuring consumer confidence since April 1986 and the index reached its highest ever level of +36 in January 2000.

Other CBS figures published on Wednesday show that consumer spending rose 7.3% in May 2022, when compared with the same period a year ago. The figures are corrected for shopping days and changes in prices.