Business Echo

The National Bank of Belgium’s (NBB) Business Echo is a qualitative, production-side assessment of the current economic situation in Belgium.

The Business Echo is based on information gathered from targeted interviews with business leaders across Belgian Regions and industries and various other sources, such as the NBB’s monthly business surveys.

While these surveys allow analysis based on a representative sample, the interviews conducted to compile the Business Echo provide additional information on dynamics and context which is not always captured by standardised surveys.

The Business Echo supports the NBB’s macroeconomic analyses and is an important source of input for the Business Cycle Monitor (BCM), which provides a quantitative estimate of quarterly growth.

The Business Echo is published at least twice a year, in early June and December, approximately one week before the BCM.

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