| Economic confidence rises in euro zone and EU |
BRUSSELS, July 31 -- Economic confidence in July reached its highest level since the beginning of 2001 in both the euro zone and the whole of the European Union (EU), the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, said on Monday.
The economic sentiment indicator rose by 0.6 points in both the25-nation EU and the 12-nation euro zone, to 109.3 and 107.7 respectively.
In both areas, sentiment increased by more than 10 points over the last 12 months, the commission said.
In sector breakdown, both areas saw an improvement in confidence in the industry and the construction sectors, but a drop in the retail trade sector. Confidence among consumers and in the services sector remained unchanged.
The European Commission also reported on Monday that there had been a slight decline in the business climate indicator for the euro zone in July following a sharp increase in June.
This decrease was mainly due to a drop in industry managers' assessments of the production trend observed in recent months. But the commission said that despite the drop, the indicator remained at a high level which had not been achieved since 2000.
The high level, together with the rebound in industrial production registered in May, suggests that industrial production growth has accelerated in the second quarter of 2006 and should remain buoyant in the third quarter, the commission said.
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