Household consumption dropped by more than an eighth in May compared with last year, according to Dutch statistics office CBS.

The drop was less marked than in April, but still one of the largest year-on-year falls ever measured, the service said. The spend on services dropped the most, by 22.4%, but spending on food and luxury goods increased by 6.3%.

However, the service expects there to have been some recovery by this month, according to a ‘consumption radar’ tool monitoring the expected state of employment, prices and production. It reports that consumers and industrial producers are currently less negative about their finances, and there has been some recovery in the stock market.