Economists at financial services group ING are forecasting an end to the Dutch recession and a continuing revival in the economies of Europe and the US in the second half of 2013.

ING is particularly optimistic about the US economy but thinks growth in Europe is still fragile. However, the current situation should lead to a rise in company profits in the Benelux region.

In the Netherlands, there has been an improvement over the past few months in the industrial and transportation sectors, says ING. Consumers are feeling less sombre and the housing market is showing signs of improvement. All of which leads the bank to conclude the recession is coming to an end.

However, ING does warn the government not to put its economic emphasis on cuts because this risks a continuing fall in consumer spending.

The bank also released a list of its ‘favourite’ shares on Tuesday. For the Netherlands, these are PostNL, Boskalis, SBM Offshore, Unit4, Delta Lloyd and Unibail Rodamco.