Press Release: November 2006: Economic sentiment strengthens further in the EU and remains stable in the euro area

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in the EU continued to rise in November 2006, reaching its highest level since the beginning of 2001, while it remained broadly stable in the euro area. The indicator rose by 1.6 points in the EU and decreased by 0.1 point in the euro area, to 113.1 and 110.3 respectively. In both areas, sentiment has been on an upward trend since mid-2005.