By Maria Martinez

Confidence among Belgian businesses fell slightly in May, due to the Ukraine war and high energy prices.

The business confidence index dropped to 1.8 in May from 2.4 in April, according to data from the National Bank of Belgium released Monday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal forecast the index at 2.1.

Business leaders' loss of confidence was evident in trade and the building industry. Conversely, the business climate improved slightly in the business-related services sector and in industry, the National Bank said.

In the trade sector, the indicator fell to minus 7.9 from 0.3 in April, with a sharp weakening due to a depressed outlook for demand and order.

In construction, the indicator fell to minus 2.0 from 2.1 the previous month, with all the underlying components contributing to the decline.

In the manufacturing sector, the indicator rose to 1.0 in May from 0.5 in April. The small revival in confidence is due to a more positive assessment of the current level of order books and an improvement in demand expectations, the bank said.

In the services sector the index rose to 12.4 in May from 11.7 in April, stemming from more favorable forecasts of market demand, following last month's sharp decline.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2022 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

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