Belgium Business Confidence Drops For Third Month

(RTTNews) - Belgium's business confidence weakened for a third successive month in May, survey data from the National Bank of Belgium said Friday.

The business confidence index fell to -6.8 from -4.6 in April. Economists had forecast a score of -4.8.

Sentiment in the manufacturing sector deteriorated and the corresponding measure dropped to -9.1 from -6.3.

Confidence in the construction sector weakened with the index falling to -14.6 from -11.6, mainly due to poor assessment of order books.

Retail trade confidence declined strongly and the gauge tumbled to -6.6 from -1.3. Businesses again revised their demand forecasts sharply downwards and expect a drop in orders placed with suppliers. With this second decline in a row, the indicator is back down to its end-2013 level, the survey said.

Meanwhile, morale in the services sector grew and the index rose to 10.8 from 8.6.