2024 economic overview by National Bank of Belgium: Belgian households increase spending
Belgian households increased their consumption in 2024, which led to a reduction in their savings rate, according to the National Bank of Belgium’s (NBB) annual report.
Household consumption expenditures rose by nearly 2 per cent over the year, the report states, marking a significant acceleration compared to 2023 and surpassing the euro area average. This increase came despite inflation climbing to 4.3 per cent in 2024, one of the highest rates of the euro area.
However, as spending grew at a faster pace than income, the household savings rate declined from 14.1 per cent in 2023 to 13.6 per cent in 2024. While still relatively high - exceeding the pre-pandemic average of 12.7 per cent recorded between 2010 and 2019 - it remained below the eurozone average.
The NBB further reports a rebound in bank lending to households last year. Banks actively sought to reclaim funds that had shifted to government bonds: nearly the entire 22 billion euros returned to the banking sector. Governor Pierre Wunsch noted that “banks were quite aggressive in retrieving deposits.”
© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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