- Dominique Barbet, an economist at BNP Paribas
The euro zone's current account surplus rose to 4.5 billion euros in January, the highest level in almost five years, from 3.4 billion euros in December, said the European Central Bank on Monday.
"The improvement is largely due to ongoing exports gain," said Dominique Barbet, an economist at BNP Paribas in Paris.
Also Monday, Italian month-on-month industrial orders fell amid weak domestic and international demand. Orders tumbled seasonally adjusted 7.4 per cent in January from December.
The research agency Markit is to announce change in flash manufacturing PMI on Thursday. The index rose to 49.6 in February from 49 in January, a sign purchasing managers became more optimistic about business conditions.
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