August 2012: Business Climate Indicator picks up slightly in the euro area

Brüssel, 20 August 2012 - In August 2012, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area edged up by 0.06 points to ‑1.21. The slight increase results from an improvement in managers' assessment of past production, export order books and the adequacy of stocks of finished products. By contrast, managers' production expectations and their assessment of overall order books deteriorated.

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

(Source: European Commission)