Скачать или смотреть Business confidence indicator

In order to track the economic situation or climate, you can always analyse the relevant figures.

But if you want a quicker overview, opinion surveys of business leaders can also do the job.

Every month, the National Bank of Belgium asks more than 6,000 of them questions about their specific business activity and their products, such as, for example: tractors, clothes or food.

These questions, which cover prices, order books and employment, often result in replies like “things are going better”, “not much has changed”, or “we’re not doing as well as we were”.

Once the replies are processed, a numerical value – or an “indicator” emerges.

That indicator gives a reliable idea of where the economy is heading over the coming months.

And not just our economy. The entire eurozone pays careful attention to it!

As far as those countries are concerned, Belgium is almost like a mirror that can predict changes to their economy.