BRUSSELS, April 23 (Reuters) - Belgian business confidence, a bellwether for the euro zone, improved in April as sentiment among manufacturers and newly included service companies picked up, the country's central bank said on Thursday.
The business confidence index, often referred to as the leading indicator, rose to -29.4 from a revised -31.8 in March.
A Reuters poll of 14 economists had produced a median forecast of -27.7, with a range from -30.4 to -24.0.
The Belgian number comes a day before the closely watched German Ifo business climate index.
Earlier on Thursday, key purchasing manager surveys showed the euro zone's services and manufacturing sectors gave their best performance in six months in April, suggesting a severe recession is no longer worsening. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Dale Hudson)