Compared to September, there was hardly any change in the economic situation in October. The economic growth rate was downwardly adjusted from earlier estimates. The volume of GDP in the second quarter of 2002 was the same as the year before.
During the first six months, the economy did not grow either. The Dutch manufacturing industry produced 3% less during the period July-August than it did in 2001. The speed with which production decreased is in line with the production decrease during the first six months of the year. The degree of capacity utilisation of machinery in industry in the third quarter was the same as it was in the second.
Producer confidence in industry fell again in September. In the third quarter, their counterparts in business services received fewer orders for the fifth quarter in a row.
The volume of household consumption during the summer months July-August was up 1.7% on the year before. Due to the favourable pattern in shopping days, the increase is slightly higher than during the first half of the year. The seasonally corrected consumer confidence figure in October stayed almost the same as in September.
In September the inflation rate (3.4%) was almost the same as in August. Registered unemployment hardly changed during the summer months.
(source: Statistics Netherlands)
