According to the Commission, the euro zone economic confidence indicator beyond expectations to 67.2 in April after falling to a record low 64.7 in March. Economists had expected a more modest gain to 65.6, while March's figure was revised up from an initial estimate of 64.6.

In its report, the Commission noted that nearly all the major components of the indicator surprised to the upside for the month. The consumer confidence component rose to -31 in April, up from both the -33 print expected and March's -34 figure, while the industrial confidence reading picked up to -35 from March's -38 level, outdoing the forecast rise to -36.

The services component also improved in April, rising to -24 from the previous month's -25 print. However, the one-point gain was in line with forecasts.

Furthermore, the EU Commission reported that its business climate figure jumped to -3.33 in April, beating out expectations of a gain to -3.53, up from March's -3.58 figure, later revised to -3.49. April's increase is the first recorded since May 2008.

The euro is currently trading up 0.64% on the day at 1.3233 USD.

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