27/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - In February, the euro area Business Climate Indicator (BCI) fell significantly to its lowest point since January 1985. The drop in the BCI reflects a general deterioration in most of its underlying components. At the same time, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) for the EU and the euro area continued also to decline in February. It fell by 2.2 points in the EU, a much smaller fall than that recorded in January, and by 1.8 points in the euro area, which in contrast was similar to the decline observed in January. The ESI levels now stand at 61.0 and 65.4 respectively - the lowest levels since the current series of the indicator was launched in January 1985. (A.B./transl.rt)