Brussels, 02/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - The economic confidence indicator, which measures the state of mind of the main players (industrialists and consumers) increased in September to 98.9 against 98.7 in August in the euro zone, according to the services of Commissioner Pedro Solbes. For the EU as a whole (EU15), the index remained unchanged at 99.2. This slight increase conceals great disparities: confidence of industrialists and the retail trade fell, whereas it improved in the construction sector and among consumers. The confidence of industrialists fell in all large European countries, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. As for consumers, morale rose in Germany and Austria, and to a lesser extent in Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and fell in France, Portugal, Greece and the Netherlands. The business climate indicator in the euro zone, that only measures the confidence of industrialists, remained almost stable in September, at -0.55 points (up 0.06 points on August), but the tendency for the last four moths is down.