Only €400 million was reinvested in the State note issued this year. The State note issued in September 2023 affected the Belgian deposit market in two ways. An article will be published on the NBB blog in mid-November which will delve deeper into the topic. 

According to a preliminary estimate, GDP was up 0.2% on the previous quarter. Value added in industry declined, while activity in the services sector continued to grow. Value added in the construction sector was stable.

The accounts show an upturn in the household saving rate, a clear rise in the corporate investment rate, and a widening of the general government deficit.

Business confidence rose slightly in October in construction, trade and business-related services, but fell for the fifth consecutive month in the manufacturing industry. The manufacturing capacity utilisation rate was virtually stable.

At the end of the second quarter of 2024, the total shares outstanding of Belgian investment funds stood at €249.1 billion. Belgian households disposed of shares in mixed funds, with these sales offset by purchases of shares in other types of funds. 

Consumers expressed more optimistic expectations regarding the job market. Households intend to save more and anticipate a strong improvement in their financial situation.  

The EU aims to be climate neutral by 2050. An average carbon price of €200/tonne is likely to be sufficient to decarbonise the economy, says NBB governor Wunsch in a publication from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Read all about this in a new article for the NBB blog by our colleague Thomas Stoerk