Press Release: May 2005: Business Climate Indicator in the euro area continues to decline

The Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area fell in May 2005 for the fifth month in a row. With 0.09 points the decline was, however, significantly smaller than in the previous three months. The May decline of the BCI was reflected in almost all underlying components. The deterioration in industry managers' opinions was more pronounced for production expectations and total order books than for export order books and stocks of finished products while assessment improved slightly for the production trend observed in the recent past.

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