Poor economic situation persists

The economic situation at the end of June was about as poor as at the end of May. Improvements and deteriorations balanced each other out. The heart of the scatter in the Business Cycle Tracer is still located in the recession stage. All indicators are currently below their long-term average.

The Dutch economy shrank by 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period one year previously. Taking calendar and seasonal effects into account, the economy contracted by 0.4 percent in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2012.

The mood among Dutch consumers deteriorated in June, after having improved for three consecutive months. The indicator reflecting the mood among manufacturers remained stable.

In April, manufacturing output was 1.9 percent down from one year previously. The volume of goods exports was 2.3 percent down. A decrease in this order of magnitude has not been recorded since October 2011. Private sector investments in tangible fixed assets fell by 9.9 percent relative to April 2012. Household spending decreased by 1.9 percent.

The capital market interest rate was 1.7 percent in May, just as in March and April. The inflation rate was 2.8 percent. Prices of existing owner-occupied dwellings were on average 8.2 percent down in May from May 2012. Selling prices of manufactured products were 1.5 percent down from one year previously.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment increased further in May and stood at 659 thousand. In the first quarter of 2013, the number of jobs and the number of job vacancies fell. The amount of hours worked in temp jobs was also lower than in the preceding quarter.

Gross domestic product (GDP)