The eurozone business climate indicator provided an unexpected bright spot on the economic front today, showing a higher than forecast rise. According to the European Commission, the index rose to -0.42 in October from a revised -0.49 in September and from -1.11 a year earlier. Economists had forecast a reading of -0.68. The Commission said that although the overall path was downward during the summer, the slight increase in the last two months "might lead to a more optimistic assessment of the current economic situation".
The increase was mainly driven by an improvement in order books, including in the export sector, as well as in opinions about production expectations, along with a fall in stocks of finished products, the commission said. It said however, that "production trends in the recent past pointed to a worsening". The preliminary indicator for September was -0.55 //www.fxcentre.com