Brussels, 30/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - The upturn in the euro zone could be stronger than expected over the following quarters, says the European Commission in its latest quarterly report on the euro, published on 30 June. It notes the acceleration in the growth of GDP in the euro zone, reaching 0.6% in the first quarter of 2006. Between the third quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006, the growth rate was 1.9%, a figure that has not been bettered since the start of 2001. The Commission stresses that the most recent assessments show even better growth rates in April and May. It recalls the forecasts published at the start of June, putting growth in the euro zone at between 0.5% and 0.9% in the second quarter, which would, the report wrote, allow the economy to bear the negative impact of exchange rates, oil prices and stock markets. The Commission also published the results of the Business Climate Indicator in the euro zone, up by 0.36 of a point to +1.41, compared with +1.05 last month. This is the best result recorded since June 2000, and can be explained, the Commission says, by the rebirth of growth in industrial production in the euro zone. And finally, the Commission also published its Economic Sentiment Indicator in the euro zone, up by 0.5 of a point to 107.2, compared with 106.7 in May.