Dutch economy shrank 0.1% in Q4 due to coronavirus lockdown

  • 2/16/2021
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AMSTERDAM, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Dutch economy shrank 0.1% on a quarterly basis in the fourth quarter of last year, the Dutch national statistics agency (CBS) said on Tuesday, as a broad lockdown to fight the coronavirus crippled demand. All bars and restaurants in the Netherlands were closed from mid-October in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19, which was followed by a shutdown of non-essential stores two months later. This lockdown had a stronger effect on the economy than expected, as economists on average had forecast growth of 0.2% for the October-December period. The Dutch economy, the euro zone’s fifth largest, shrank 3.8% over the whole of 2020, which is the sharpest contraction on record, the CBS said. But the full-year hit was less severe than expected, as the government’s main economic adviser in November had pencilled in a contraction of 4.2% for 2020. It predicted growth of 2.8% for 2021 at the time.

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