Eurozone economic confidence strengthened to a five-month high in February on improving confidence among industrial managers and consumers, a closely watched survey revealed Thursday.

The economic confidence index registered 96.3 in February, up from 95.3 in the previous month, survey data from the European Commission revealed. The reading was above economists' forecast of 96.0 and was also the highest since last September.

The strengthening of the ESI in the EU stemmed from improved confidence in industry and among consumers, which was moderated by a decrease in construction and services confidence. Confidence in retail trade remained broadly unchanged.

The industrial sentiment index improved more-than-expected to -11.4 from -12.7 a month ago. Moreover, this was the second consecutive rise and also hit a three-month high. The score was seen at -12.0.

The consumer sentiment index matched the flash estimate of -13.6, up from -14.2 in December.

Meanwhile, the services sentiment indicator dropped unexpectedly to 6.2 from 6.7 a month ago, while it was seen rising to 6.8.

Confidence among contractors weakened after improving in January. The reading slid to -3.5 from -3.0. At the same time, confidence among retailers remained unchanged in February as the index reading held steady at -5.3.

Further, the survey showed that the Employment Expectations Indicator deteriorated in February, moving somewhat further below its long-term average. The score came in at 97.0 compared to 98.5 in the previous month.

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