Euro-area economic confidence improved for a third consecutive month in December, signaling the region may be heading for a mild recovery, according to Bloomberg News.

A sentiment indicator published on Monday by the European Commission rose to 96.4, the best reading since May and higher than predicted by anyone in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The November reading was revised up to 94.

The jump was driven by increases across all sub-indicators.

The combination of aggressive monetary tightening, sluggish growth in China and the aftermath of the energy crisis have taken a toll on the euro area. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict the bloc ended the year in recession with a second consecutive contraction of 0.1% in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, inflation accelerated in December as governments removed support for high energy costs. The expected upticks in consumer-price gains across the region underscore the challenging last mile down to the European Central Bank’s 2% target.