BRUSSELS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Eurozone economic confidence continued to improve in December, its ninth consecutive monthly increase since its trough in March, a European Commission survey showed Thursday.

    The economic sentiment indicator for the 16-nation bloc sharing the euro increased by 4.1 points to 92.0, while in the 27-nation European Union (EU), the monthly indicator, based on business and consumer surveys, rose by 2.5 points to 91.3.

    However, in both the eurozone and the EU, the levels were stil lbelow the respective long-term averages.

    The surveys are conducted in different sectors of the economy, namely industry, services, construction and retail trade as well as among consumers.

    Among individual sectors, industry remained the main contributor to the overall improvement, with an increase of 3 points in both the eurozone and the EU.

    Services increased by 1 point in the eurozone and by 6 points in the EU. No major development was noted in retail, which remained unchanged in the EU and increased by 1 point in the eurozone.

    Confidence among consumers improved by 1 point in both areas, as unemployment fears faded, but construction declined by 2 points in the eurozone and by 1 point in the EU.

    Confidence in financial services, which is not included in the overall indicator, remained broadly unchanged in the EU and declined by 2 points in the eurozone.

    The commission said this was mainly because managers' assessment of the business situation over the past three months was significantly more negative than in the previous month's survey.

    The majority of EU countries reported a general improvement in sentiment. Among the largest member states, Britain reported the sharpest increase of 8.2 points, followed by France, with a rise of 4.1 points.

    Meanwhile, the business climate indicator (BCI) for the eurozone also improved in December for the ninth consecutive month, the commission said in a separate survey.

    The rise in the BCI reflected an across-the-board improvement in managers' assessments.

    However, the commission said the indicator remained at a low level, suggesting year-on-year growth in industrial production was still negative in November.

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