Output prices are strongly influenced by crude oil price movements. In April 2023, a barrel of Brent North Sea oil cost more than 76 euros, 22% less than a year earlier. In March, the average price of a barrel of oil stood at almost 74 euros, 27% lower than in the same month last year. Prices of petroleum derivatives fell by 21.3% y/y in April; they grew 21.2% in March, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said in a press release.
Manufacturer confidence among Dutch manufacturers also fell in May 2023. It fell from 3.0 in April to 2.1 in May. This was largely due to less active manufacturers. more extreme in terms of order placements. Currently above the long-term average of 1.3, manufacturer confidence hit an all-time high of 12.7 in November 2021 and an all-time low in April 2020 of -28 ,7.
Dutch product prices fell 2.3% year-on-year in April 2023, the first drop in more than two years, with producer product prices down 0.1% from March. This decline was influenced by the price of Brent crude oil falling 22% year-on-year. Manufacturer confidence in the Netherlands also fell from 3.0 in April to 2.1 in May 2023.
Manufacturers are mostly less aggressive about order placement. They are also less positive about future output over the next three months. Their opinion on finished goods inventories is now more negative.
Two component indicators of manufacturer confidence are positive. Most manufacturers consider their order positions to be strong rather than weak, given the time of year. Furthermore, manufacturers predicting output will increase over the next three months more than those expecting a decrease.
However, there is a negative component index. Many manufacturers define their current stock of finished goods as too large instead of too small.
In most major manufacturing sectors, manufacturer confidence deteriorated in May. In March 2023, the average daily output of the Dutch manufacturing industry was 4.0% lower than in March 2022. Output was also down year-on-year in the previous two months of 2023.
Germany is an important market for the Dutch manufacturing industry. In May, German entrepreneurs were more negative about the business environment, according to the ifo Institute’s Doing Business Index. They are much more negative about the future business situation and also less positive about the current situation. The average daily output generated by Germany’s manufacturing sector rose 3.6% year-on-year in March, Destatis reported.
Fiber2Fashion (NB) News Desk
