2023-06-19 13:20:40
Merchant activity in Brussels recorded strong growth in the last quarter of last year, following having slowed down for six months due to high inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IBSA (Institut Brussels statistics and analysis office) in its economic barometer. Several factors, including the weakening of consumer and business confidence in Brussels, point to stagnation or even a decline in the growth of market activity this year.
In 2022, following a positive first quarter of post-Covid rebound, the production of non-financial market activity in Brussels recorded two consecutive quarters of contraction, details the IBSA. This slowdown is linked to the emergence of the war in Ukraine, which has caused new constraints on international trade and has pushed up the prices of commodities, oil and gas. “This price increase and the uncertainty linked to the war have caused the confidence of consumers and producers in Brussels to plunge to an extraordinarily low level”, explains the institute. However, market economic activity progressed in the fourth quarter thanks in particular to a drop in energy prices from October. Over the whole of 2022, the growth of the Brussels merchant sector reached 5.9% compared to 2021, and 2.1% compared to 2019, the pre-Covid year. Investments by the market sector in Brussels also increased by 9.6% last year, but they have not yet returned to their level before the health crisis. For 2023, the BISA points out that inflation excluding energy prices continues to increase, that the rise in interest rates weighs heavily on the demand for credit and that the confidence of Brussels consumers and businesses has once more out of breath in recent months. According to the institute, the growth of market activity in Brussels might therefore stagnate, or even decline.
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