Amsterdam - Dutch nationals are spending less money for the first time in four years, the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said in a report released on Thursday.

The report said Dutch nationals spent 2.4 per cent less in the first three months of 2009 compared with the same period last year.

As government spending still increased (up 2.5 per cent) during those months, total consumption dropped only 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

The purchases of cars furniture and electronics dropped most.

In a separate report the CBS also confirmed previous predictions that the Dutch economy shrank 4.5 per cent in the first three months of this year in comparison with the same period last year. The quarter-to-quarter drop was 2.6 per cent.

It is the biggest economic downturn in a single quarter since the CBS first began to keep track of these statistics.

Exports and investments were hit the hardest, the CBS said. (dpa)