Eurozone economic climate brightens

April 3, 2002 Posted: 9:02 AM EST

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The eurozone's economic climate brightened in March, led by a strong industrial sector and indicating an economic recovery is under way.

The European Commission's main index of economic sentiment rose for the fourth straight month in March to 99.5 -- the highest level since September -- from 99.3 the previous month.

The EC's main indicator tracks industrial and consumer sentiment. The industrial confidence index rose to -11 in March, also the highest since September, from -14 in February, while the consumer confidence index was unchanged at -9.

"Such positive developments are mainly attributable to the favourable evolution observed in the industrial and, to a much lesser extent, in the consumer confidence components,'' the commission said on Wednesday.

The EC's separate business climate indicator rose 0.2 points to -0.62 in March, again the highest level in six months.

"Such favourable developments were mainly driven by improved production expectations,'' the commission said.

Meanwhile, the European Union statistics office said on Wednesday that the unemployment rate in February was 8.4 percent, unchanged from January. Economists had expected February's jobless rate to rise to 8.5 percent rate.

It also said eurozone producer prices rose 0.1 percent in February from the previous month and fell 1.1 percent from the same time a year earlier, which was in line with expectations.

"All the leading indicators point to a good pick up in eurozone growth, though consumer confidence is still the weak link," Jean Francois Mercier, an economist at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, told Reuters.

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