Economic confidence in the eurozone reached a two-year high in September after rising for five consecutive months, the European Commission said Friday.

In September, the economic sentiment indicator (ESI) increased by 1.6 points in the euro area to 96.9, continuing the upward trend observed since May, the Commission said in a report.

In the single currency area, the rising trend was particularly strong in some of the bloc's largest economies, with Spain and Italy rising by 2.5 points and France up by 1.6 points.

In Europe's biggest economy Germany, the ESI was broadly unchanged, while the economic confidence in the Netherlands worsened by 0.9 points.

In the same period, ESI increased by 2.4 points in the European Union (EU) to 100.6, bringing the indicator above its long-term average for the first time since July 2011 in the EU.

The Commission's directorate general for economic and financial affairs' "harmonised" surveys for different sectors of the economies in the EU and in the applicant countries have become an indispensable tool for monitoring the evolution of the EU and the euro area economies, as well as developments in the applicant countries, the Commission said.