Business and consumer confidence in the 16-nation eurozone jumped this month to its highest level in more than two years, driven by regional powerhouse German, the European Union said yesterday.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator produced by the European Commission rose to 101.3 points in the single currency area, an increase of 2.3 points from June and the highest level since March 2008, before the global recession erupted.

Sentiment also improved across the 27-nation European Union, rising by 1.9 points to 102.2 points.

“These results are strongly influenced by markedly positive readings in Germany,” the Commission said.

The majority of European states reported improvements, led by Germany with a four point spike in business and consumer confidence, followed increases of 2.2 points in France and 1.9 points in Poland.

Sentiment was down in Spain as it dropped by 2.2 points in the last European country to emerge from recession. The European Commission said sentiment in industry was the “main contributor to the overall improvement” with an increase of two points as respondents in the sector reported “substantial improvements in their order books”.