The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) continued the upward trend that began in the summer of 2005, said the European Commission (EC) on Thursday.

"After a slight fall in the previous month, the indicator improved by a marginal 0.1 of a point for the EU and by 0.6 of a point for the euro area," said a press release issued by the executive of the European Union (EU).

"The euro-area indicator rose above its long-term average, and the gap vis-a-vis the EU indicator diminished," said the press release.

In the meantime, the EC announced on the same day that the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area rose significantly in December of 2005 after a small decline in November.

"The BCI has been above its long term average since September 2005 and it is now close to the relatively high levels that prevailed one year ago," said the EC.

Source: Xinhua