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Belgian imports and exports continue to pick up
Foreign trade has seen moderate negative growth in recent months, driven mainly by trade in chemical and energy products, transport equipment, and machinery.
Bringing down interest rates: are wages throwing a spanner in the works?
With inflation having fallen sharply, the ECB cut interest rates in early June. It is closely monitoring wage growth as wages had risen 5% year-on-year in the euro area in early 2024. This factor could exert upward pressure on inflation. Can we expect to see further rate cuts soon? Find out in the latest article on our blog, co-authored by Jana Jonckheere and Hélène Zimmer.
ECB President Lagarde on the interest rate cut
On 6 June, the ECB lowered interest rates. ECB President Christine Lagarde has penned a blog post explaining why the ECB did so and what still needs to be done to bring inflation back to 2% in the foreseeable future.
Economic growth should hold steady and inflation is set to decline again
According to the National Bank’s latest projections, the Belgian economy should continue to grow at a relatively steady pace. Domestic demand is set to moderate, but net exports are expected to make a gradually less negative contribution to growth. Inflation is forecast to fall again. The labour market weakened slightly faster than expected but should gradually pick up again.
Who is financing whom?
In the latest post on our blog, NBB statisticians Martine Druant and Luc Monseu use a matrix to map financial flows between economic sectors for 2023. For example, the issuance of a new one-year State note caused households to shift €22 billion from bank deposits to the government.
Monetary policy decisions
On 6 June, the Governing Council decided to lower the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points.
Belgian economy expected to grow by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2024
Read more on this in the latest Business Cycle Monitor.
- 20 June 2024 11:00
Press release - Consumer confidence indicator (2024-06)
- 24 June 2024 15:00
Press release - Business confidence indicator (2024-06)
- 28 June 2024 11:00
Press release - Net international investment position and balance of payments financial account (2024-I)
- 28 June 2024 11:00
Press release - NAI - Quarterly sector accounts (2024-I)
- 12 July 2024 11:00
Press release - Financial accounts of Belgium (2024-I)
- 15 July 2024 11:00
Foreign Trade Statistics - Monthly Bulletin (F-N) (2024-04)
- 15 July 2024 11:00
Press release - Foreign Trade Statistics (F-N) (2024-04)
- 22 July 2024 11:00
Press release - Consumer confidence indicator (2024-07)
- 25 July 2024 15:00
Press release - Business confidence indicator (2024-07)
- 26 July 2024 11:00
Press release - Belgian non-money market investment funds (2024-I)