Consumers much more positive about economy

Confidence of Dutch consumers is substantially higher in June 2006 than in May. This is mainly because consumers are much more positive about the economy. For the first time in five years there are more optimists than pessimists, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands.

Improved opinion on economic climate

Consumers are considerably more positive about the economic climate in June. Their opinion on the economy in the last twelve months in particular has improved substantially. For the first time since March 2001 consumers were positive on this aspect. Their opinions on the coming twelve months also improved significantly and reached its highest value since 1986 (when the series began).

Willingness to buy also up

Consumers are also more willing to spend their money. This is because their opinions on their own financial situation have also improved considerably. Consumers hardly changed their minds this month about whether it is a good time to buy expensive consumer durables; their opinions on this component did improve substantially last month, though.

More optimists than pessimists

Consumer confidence rose by 9 points in June. This is a substantial increase. It is also the first time in five years that confidence is above the zero line. This means that the optimists outnumber the pessimists.

Consumer confidence is higher than the preceding month for the tenth month in succession. This can be attributed to an increasingly positive opinion on the economy in general. This component has risen by  54 points since September last year. Willingness to buy also improved, but not by as much.