The business climate indicator (BCI) for the euro zone kept rising to a new high in November of last year, the European Commission said on Friday.

The BCI for the bloc sharing the same currency stood at 1.60 in November, an increase of 0.05 from the previous record level registered in October. The figure does not include Slovenia which just joined the euro zone on Jan. 1, 2007.

The increase of the BCI in December results from improvements in industry managers' assessment of the production trend observed in recent months and of total order books, as well as of export order books and stocks of finished products. By contrast, their production expectations for the months ahead became less optimistic.

Increasing for two consecutive months points to sustained industrial production growth in the fourth quarter of 2006, the Commission said.

The BCI for the euro zone has been improving since September of 2005.