Business sentiment remains solid for the time being, despite the energy shock
Above all, companies are reporting, above all, a rise in input costs, which is expected to lead to higher prices for goods sold in the coming months. Output remains buoyant, in both industry and services. However, household confidence is deteriorating significantly, driven by sharply rising inflation expectations.
The divergence in trends between households and businesses is reflected in lending, as lending to households continues to slow, whilst lending to businesses is picking up
New loans to households for house purchase and consumer loans continued to slow year-on-year in February for the fourth consecutive month. Interest rates remained stable in February. On a year-to-date basis, net bank lending to businesses and net debt issues saw a slight uptick in February, against a backdrop of a moderate fall in lending rates.
