The war in the Middle East has hit Dutch consumer confidence hard, leading them to worry about rising prices and delay making major purchases, national statistics agency CBS said on Wednesday.

The CBS consumer confidence index in April shows the biggest drop since 2020, when coronavirus hit, falling from -30 in March to -44. This is the second biggest drop since the index was launched in April 1986. The index has averaged around -11 for the past 20 years.

Consumers are also “significantly more negative” about the economic outlook for the next 12 months, the CBS said.

The government on Tuesday published a €1 billion package of measures which it plans to implement if there is an energy crisis, to alleviate the impact on families.

Commuters will be able to claim an extra two cents a kilometre for travel expenses in their annual tax return, while road tax will be cut by 50% for commercial users and suspended altogether for delivery lorries from July 1.

The cabinet is also putting €195 million into the energy relief fund to support the poorest households and committing an extra €180 million to a loan facility for homeowners to fund sustainability measures such as better insulation.