Economic confidence up for ninth month as eurozone recovery continues

Eurozone economic confidence increased for a ninth month in January, led by the services industry, adding to evidence that the 18-nation currency bloc’s recovery is gaining traction.

An index of executive and consumer sentiment rose to 100.9 from a revised 100.4 in December, the European Commission in Brussels said yesterday. That’s the highest reading since Jul 2011, though it missed the median estimate of 101 in a Bloomberg News survey of 34 economists.

European stocks and bonds have rallied amid signs growth is gradually picking up in the eurozone, with economists estimating a 0.2% expansion in the fourth quarter after 0.1% growth in the previous three months, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Sovereign borrowing costs fell to eurozone records from Greece to Ireland while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index hit a six-year high.