31/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - After having decreased for three months in a row, the business climate indicator (BCI) for the eurozone rebounded in March. This rise reflects sustained growth in industrial production during the first quarter this year, in line with the increase recorded in January. The rise in the BCI is due to industry managers' more optimistic appraisal of the production trend in recent months and of their total order books. By contrast, their production expectations continue to decline, while their views of export order books and stocks of finished products remain unchanged. The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) rose by 1.7 points in the EU and decreased by 0.6 points in the euro area to 10.20 and 99.6 respectively. Following a continuous decline since mid-2007, the indicator rebounded somewhat in the EU on the back of a sharp improvement in services confidence in the UK. Meanwhile, it weakened further in the euro area and now stands just below its long-term average. (O.L.)