FX.co ★ Dutch Consumers Slightly More Pessimistic In May

Dutch consumer confidence weakened further in May, with increasing pessimism surrounding the economic climate, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The consumer confidence index dropped to -22 in May from -21 in April, significantly lower than the 20-year average of -10 points.

Sentiments about the economic climate grew more negative, although consumer willingness to buy showed a slight improvement.

Breaking down the components, the economic climate index declined to -38 in May from -34 in April, reflecting heightened pessimism among households about the economy.

Conversely, the willingness to buy index slightly improved to -12 in May from -13 in April, although consumers still perceived the time for making major purchases as less favorable compared to the previous month.