Eurozone economic sentiment improved in October against market expectations of a flat reading, pointing to continued economic growth in the second half of the year, even if slower than the second quarter peak.
The European Commission's monthly sentiment survey showed sentiment in the 16 countries using the euro rose to 104.1 points this month from 103.2 in September, the highest reading in almost three years.
The improvement was mainly due to more optimism in industry, where sentiment rose to 0 from -2 in September. Confidence among consumers and in the services sector was unchanged at -11 and 8 points respectively.
Inflation expectations in industry and among consumers remained unchanged, data showed.
Economists said however, that there was still a risk to growth prospects from budget tightening planned by governments to regain debt market confidence and from the strength of the euro.
Reuters