Poor Dutch economic data last quarter: GDP falls 0.1% as exports slump 6% in March

The Dutch economy reversed course during the first three months of the year, with the gross domestic product sliding backward for the fourth time in five quarters. The GDP fell by 0.1 percent from January to March, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), which released new data on Wednesday that also showed exports fell sharply by 6 percent in March alone. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the Dutch economy was 0.7 percent lower this past quarter.

The Dutch GDP stood 0.9 percent lower than at the end of 2022, a year marked by a rapid recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. That was followed by a mild recession that took hold from January to September 2023. During the last quarter of the year, the economy grew by 0.3 percent to end the year.

Hopes that this was the start of a positive trend were dashed on Wednesday. “Although mineral extraction recorded the largest decline, manufacturing contributed the most of all industries to the decline in GDP in the first quarter,” the CBS said.

Looking at added value, the difference between production and consumption, industrial results fell by 3.8 percent last quarter. “This can mainly be attributed to the machine and transport industry,” the CBS said. “The added value of construction fell by 1.8 percent.”

Government consumption made the most positive contribution to the economy in the first quarter, growing by 0.6 percent. Domestically, construction investments slipped, while transport and machinery investments grew, putting fixed asset investments up 0.4 percent during the quarter. Household spending rose by 0.7 percent when adjusted for inflation, with more purchases made on clothing, shoes, and air travel. Government spending rose by 0.6 percent.

However, overall, exports of goods and services fell by 0.1 percent, driven by a stronger decline in sending goods abroad. Services provided abroad actually rose, while imports of goods and services remained flat. “As a result, the trade balance made a negative contribution to GDP development.“

Exports of goods in March were down 5.9 percent compared to a year earlier. “Exports of food, beverages and tobacco, chemical products, electrical products and machines in particular were lower than a year earlier.”

The CBS also noted that export conditions were more negative this month than earlier in the year. “This is mainly because the year-on-year development of real exchange rates was less unfavorable, and the year-on-year contraction in German industrial production was smaller.”

Imports volume also shrank by 0.3 percent on developments in the oil and natural gas, food and beverages, chemical products, electrical equipment, and machinery sectors.

The Dutch economy performed worse than those of the Netherlands’ main trading partners, CBS said. The economy of the European Union as a whole grew by 0.3 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter. Belgium also saw 0.3 percent GDP growth, while Germany and France recorded 0.2 percent growth. The United States economy grew by 0.4 percent, and the United Kingdom’s by 0.6 percent.