Consumer confidence in Belgium has fallen to its lowest level since the start of this year, as rising unemployment and high inflation have left citizens increasingly pessimistic about the country's economic prospects.
In a press release published on Monday, the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) noted that this downward trend "offset the favourable development observed last month".
"On a personal level, households expect to save less in the coming months," the NBB noted. "They are also slightly less optimistic about their financial situation for the next twelve months."
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This growing pessimism about the financial outlook for households has also been identified in several other recent studies. One report published earlier this year by Testaankoop, a Belgian consumer protection and analysis firm, found that four in ten Belgians are now drawing on their savings to pay the bills. One in eight have recently turned to friends and family members in order to make ends meet.
The decline in consumer confidence also appears to be supported by hard economic data. In particular, Belgium's current inflation rate of 5.60% is more than four-and-a-half times greater than this time last year. Moreover, Flanders has seen an increase in unemployment every month since November. The Walloon cities of Charleroi and Liège recently registered unemployment rates of 23.8% and 25.5% respectively.
