AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The coronavirus pandemic has made manufacturers in the Netherlands more pessimistic about their prospects than ever before, the national statistics office said on Wednesday.
Producer confidence fell from 0.2 in March to minus 28.7 in April, registering the largest monthly drop ever, to the lowest level since records began in 1985, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said.
The April reading compares to an average of 0.8 over the past 20 years and meant that pessimists outweighed optimists among Dutch manufacturers for the first time since 2014.
Confidence evaporated in all sectors of the Dutch economy, as lockdowns installed throughout Europe crippled productivity and demand.
Factories on average operated at 74% of their capacity, their lowest level in over 30 years.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Catherine Evans)
