Economic growth in Belgium experienced a slowdown in the second quarter, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rising by 0.2% compared to the first three months. This initial estimate from
the National Bank, released on Friday, indicates a deceleration from the 0.4% growth registered in the first quarter.
The decline in economic growth can be attributed to a 1% decrease in the industry's added value. However, there were positive contributions from services (+0.5%) and construction (+0.1%).
On an annualized basis, Belgium's GDP grew by 0.9% in the second quarter, marking another slowdown compared to the +1.3% growth observed in the first quarter. This is the lowest growth rate since early 2021. However, the National Bank warns that there is still uncertainty surrounding this flash estimate due to the lack of administrative data for June.
On a separate note, Belgian inflation has stabilized at 4.14% in July after several months of decline. There is a minimal difference between the July and June inflation rates, according to figures from the Belgian statistics office Statbel. In October of the previous year, inflation had peaked at 12.27% but has since been on a downward trend, with one small increase in March. This decline in inflation is mainly attributed to falling energy prices (-24.11%), while food prices continued to rise significantly in July (13.23%). Photo by MADe at Dutch Wikipedia.