Press Release: November 2006: Business Climate Indicator for the euro area reaches an all-time high

After levelling off in October 2006, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area picked up again in November, to record its highest ever level. This suggests that industrial production growth will remain strong in the fourth quarter of 2006. The increase of the BCI results from increases in industry managers' assessments of the production trend observed in recent months and in their production expectations for the months ahead as well as improvements in their appraisal of total order books. Managers' views on export order books and on stocks of finished products remained unchanged.