In October, business confidence in the Netherlands improved, reaching -0.8 compared to -1.6 in the prior month. This represents the highest level of confidence since April 2023 and is primarily driven by an optimistic outlook for production over the upcoming three months (10.7 compared to 9.4 in September). Assessments concerning finished goods inventories (-4.7 compared to -5.4) and order books (-8.5 compared to -8.9) also showed reduced negativity. The brighter outlook spread across more than half of the sectors analyzed. Notably, producers in industries such as machinery repair, installation, and furniture demonstrated the most optimism, whereas those in the electrical and machinery sectors remained the most pessimistic.