This adjustment is mainly due to the fact that the Netherlands remains in severe lockdown. Central Bank Chairman Claas Knott: .. We now expect a renewed contraction of about 1 percent for the first quarter. When the economy liberalizes gradually later this year, it could recover substantially, similar to what we saw in the third quarter of last year. Knot stresses that the economic impact of the Coronavirus crisis has in fact been better than expected so far.
A recovery is on the horizon as multiple vaccines emerge
Over the entire last year, the Dutch gross domestic product has decreased by 3.8 percent, according to DNB. According to Knot, the decline has been historically significant, but less than feared at the start of the pandemic, and also lower than it has been in many other countries. According to him, this is largely due to the support packages from the government. Measures to prevent the spread of the virus also play a role. If restrictive measures are not in place, the pandemic is likely to be more serious and the economic damage greater, according to the DNB.
With the arrival of many vaccines, Knot stresses, a recovery is on the horizon. So he describes it as “troublesome” because the vaccination campaign is not running smoothly. As a result, Europe could be several months behind countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. However, Knot still assumes that during this year there will come a time when almost everyone will get vaccinated.
