After last month’s strong improvement, the consumer confidence indicator has fallen back a bit in January. For the first time since September 2020, prospects about the general economic situation as well as expectations about unemployment trends have deteriorated.

The National Bank has estimated the impact on the Belgian economy on the basis of a Brexit deal with a free trade agreement. It has also calculated that the agreement should help boost Belgian GDP by 0.4 of a percentage point within five years over and above the trajectory used in its December economic projections that were compiled under the assumption of a no-deal Brexit.