Sharp consumer confidence decline the second-worst ever recorded

Consumer confidence in the Netherlands deteriorated significantly in April, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. The stats office’s consumer confidence indicator dropped from -30 in March to -44 in April, the second-largest drop since the agency started tracking this figure in April 1986. Only in April 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, was the decline in consumer confidence greater.

The confidence consumers have in the Dutch economy is well below the -11 average of the past 20 years. Consumer confidence took a major hit last month after the United States and Israel started attacking Iran in late February, and that plummet continued in April.

Due to the war, the Strait of Hormuz, a major transport route for oil and gas, is blocked almost entirely. As a result, oil and gas prices have skyrocketed. Consumers are feeling the impact at the pump, where diesel and petrol prices have risen to record highs.

Confidence reached its highest level ever in January 2000 (+36) and its lowest level ever in September and October 2022 (-59).

People in the Netherlands also think this is not a good time for making big purchases. The indicator for consumers’ willingness to buy things fell to -26 in April, compared to -15 in March. This, too, was the second-biggest decline ever recorded. “Only once was the decline in consumer willingness greater. That was in April 2020,” CBS said.