Dutch household spending rose marginally in May compared with May 2013, the first rise this year, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, household spending remains depressed due to lower natural gas usage. Families would have increased their outgoings all year if gas sales are excluded, the CBS said.

In particular, spending was up in May on clothes, shoes, electronic goods, household equipment and cars. The overall increase was just 0.1%.

Dutch companies and the government also boosted their investments by 0.5% in May, the CBS said. It was the eighth month in a row that investments rose.