Economic and business confidence in the eurzone improved for the fourth straight month in February, the European Commission said yesterday, as factories saw their order books filling up.

Economic sentiment in the eurozone rose by a better-than-expected 1.6 points to 91.1, continuing a recovery started in November last year, the Commission said.

The eurozone was managing to eke out a small recovery, but it was too soon to be optimistic about a broader trend, Capital Economics economist Ben May said.

“Clearly the Italian election and the political and market uncertainty is potentially another trigger for a new downward leg in business and consumer sentiment, and given that this survey predates that I think you wouldn’t want to assume you are going to see this continued upward trend in sentiment over the months ahead,” he said.

The Commission also said business morale increased by 0.36 points to -0.73, reaching a level last seen in May 2012. The European Central Bank’s unprecedented decision last year to buy the bonds of governments who ask for help calmed the eurozone crisis dramatically, removing the risk for businesses of a break-up of the currency bloc.

The mood in factories brightened in February and managers told the Commission they saw rosier outlooks on expected production and on the size of overall order books. Morale in services also drove the rise in confidence, with service confidence up slightly as managers revised past evaluations.

Consumer confidence increased marginally in the eurozone, by 0.3 points. Consumers were more positive about the future economy in general, but pessimistic about their own ability to save money over the next 12 months.