Brussels, 31/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - In March, the index measuring the level of confidence felt by the main economic actors in the Euro area saw its largest monthly fall since the disaster in September 2001, according to the figures published on Monday by the European Commission. The economic sentiment indicator, which notably measures the optimism of industry and consumers, lost 0.6 points in March compared to February, falling to 97.8 points from 98.4. This is the largest monthly fall since 11 September 2001, notes the Commission. The business climate indicator, which concentrates in particular on industrial confidence, also fell in March, to -0.60 points against -0.27 points in February (the greatest drop since that of October 2001). The Commission underlines that recent developments indicate that short-term economic prospects have experienced a marked deterioration.