Belgium Business Sentiment Rises In September

(RTTNews) - Belgium's business confidence improved for the second straight month in September, survey data from the National Bank of Belgium showed Wednesday.

The business confidence indicator rose to -7.9 in September from -8.9 in the previous month. The expected reading was -8.0. Further, this was the higehst score since April 2023.

Among sectors, confidence has grown in all sectors, most markedly in the building industry and to a lesser extent in the manufacturing industry, the survey said.

The confidence indicator for the building industry was less pessimistic and rose to -5.8 from -9.4 as there was continued growth in orders, and assessments of order book levels were considerably more favorable.

The sub-index for the business-related services turned positive and improved to 0.1 from -1.5 amid more optimistic expectations for business activity and overall market demand.

The morale for the manufacturing industry increased slightly to -10.4 from -10.5 in August, driven by upward revisions of expectations concerning both demand and employment.