Belgian consumer confidence dips for a second month in December
Consumer confidence in Belgium dipped in December as subindices tracking the economic situation and the outlook for joblessness in the country fell back.
The Belgian central bank's consumer confidence gauge slipped for a second consecutive month, albeit only marginally so, from a reading of 3.0 for November to 2.0 in December.
Meanwhile, the sub-index referencing the economic situation in Belgium retreated from a reading of 6.0 to 5.0 and another linked to levels of unemployment rose from -5.0 to 0.0.
"The decline in the indicator was mainly due to a deterioration in consumers' outlook for unemployment, which had been following a highly optimistic trend since July. Moreover, they are taking a little less positive view of future general economic developments too," the monetary authority said in a statement.
On the other hand, another sub-index gauging households' savings expectations improved, from a reading of 2.0 to 3.0, and that measuring the financial situation of households printed at 0.0, unchanged on the previous month's level.