31/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - According to the first Eurostat figures, the rate of inflation fell to 2.2% in March 2006 compared to 2.3% in February and 2.4% in January. The economic sentiment indicator for business and consumers is improving in the EU and eurozone. With a rise of 0.8 points in March, it has reached a record level since mid-2001, the Commission observes, noting that the eurozone business climate indicator has also continued to improve.