The Business Climate Indicator ( BCI) for the euro area continued to improve in August and September, said the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU).

"The recent developments thus substantiate the observation of an upswing in cyclical perceptions of industry managers since June, " said the commission in a report.

The BCI rose above zero in September, the first reading in positive territory since March of this year.

The positive development of the BCI in September was reflected in almost all underlying components. Only the production expectations remained unchanged in the month.

In August, the improvement of industry managers' production expectation had been offset by the decline of their opinions on production in recent months, while their views had remained steady for the three remaining components -- export and total order books and the stocks of finished products.

The BCI is based on a factor analysis of the euro area aggregate balances of five of the questions in a monthly industry survey. Employment and selling-price expectations are excluded.

Source: Xinhua