Economic sentiment in the euro zone hit a four-year high in September according to new data from the European Commission.

During the month the index which measures how positive people feel about the economy rose from 104.1 in August, to 105.6 in September - this is the highest reading since April 2011 when it hit 106.1.

This has been driven by increased optimism in industry, services and the retail sector.

The EU's business climate measure, which indicates where in the business cycle the European economy is, was expected to decline - but it rose from 0.20 in August, to 0.34 in September.

Consumers' inflation expectations rose to 3.2 - this is far below the longterm average of 19.7. Inflation in the euro zone in August was 0.1%, year-on-year - far from the European Central Bank's target rate of 2%.

While the economic indicators are generally positive, consumer confidence did slip during the month, falling from -6.9 to -7.1.

The outlook in the construction sector also fell, down from -22.7 to -23.3 during the month.