Dutch consumers spent 2.4% more on goods and services in February than they did a year ago, the strongest growth in four years, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

Spending on gas was up because of the colder winter and helped propel the growth, the CBS said.

Consumers also spent 4.1% more on clothes and furniture and 1.8% more on food and drink.

However, the CBS also noted a slight downturn in consumer confidence in April, which was positive in March for the first time in seven years.

The drop is largely due to consumers being more pessimistic about the economy in general, the CBS said.