European economic confidence at highest level since early 2001

Economic optimism in Europe kept soaring in November at the highest level since the beginning of 2001, driven by firm confidence across nearly all sectors, an EU survey released Thursday showed.

The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator for the eurozone remained high at 110.3 points in November dipping slightly from 110.4 points in October but beating private economists' forecasts for a reading of 110.0 points.

Optimism was even higher in the 25-nation European Union (EU), where the indicator rose to 113.1 points from 111.5 points.

"Economic sentiment was boosted by a rise in confidence across almost all sectors," the European Union's executive arm said.

In the EU as a whole, optimism was boosted by "positive developments" in the industrial, services and retail trade sectors while sentiment also improved slightly in the construction sector. Meanwhile, consumer confidence was stable.

The eurozone saw similar trends with the exception of confidence in the services and retail trade, which eased.

In a breakdown by country the survey painted a mixed picture, with higher confidence in Germany, France, Poland and Britain and lower confidence in Italy and Spain.

Separately, the commission's eurozone business climate indicator rose in November to its highest level ever after levelling off in October. "This suggests that industrial production growth will remain strong in the fourth quarter of 2006," it said.

The commission's survey of industry managers' outlooks rose to 1.54 points from 1.41 points.