FRANKFURT (MktNews) - The European Commission's Business Climate Indicator(BCI) declined slightly in February to its lowest level since January 2000, showingincreased caution on the part of industrial firms about the economic situation in theeurozone. The Comission stressed that the indicator remained relatively high byhistorical standards. "This virtual stabilization at a elatively high level is consistentwith growth in industrial production well above its average between 1986 and 2000,"the Commission said. Still, the index has declined substantially from its peak at +1.72in June and has fallen well below the plateau of around 1.40 seen in the four monthsfrom July to October. The question is if the stabilization in February is the end of the downward trend seen in recent months or only a pause. February PMI data for both theservices and the manufacturing sectors imply the downtrend is continuing. It will beinteresting to see how well sentiment holds if U.S. economic growth data is very weakin the months ahead.