Press Release: September 2009: Business Climate Indicator improves slightly

The Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area improved further in September, although the improvement was less marked than in the previous month. The level of the BCI, however, continues to remain very low, suggesting that year-on-year growth in industrial production was still strongly negative in August. The modest rise in BCI was mainly due to an improving assessment of stocks of finished products, with slightly more optimistic views on production in recent months and production expectations than in previous month.