Eurozone industrial new orders fell more than twice as much as expected month-on-month in July, data showed on Wednesday, pointing to slower economic growth in the second half of the year. The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said orders in the 16 countries using the euro fell 2.4 percent against June for an 11.2 percent year-on-year rise, pulled down mainly by a slump in demand for capital and durable consumer goods.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 1.1 percent monthly decline and a 16.3 percent year-on-year gain. The overall eurozone result was weighed down by a weak performance in the eurozone's biggest economy Germany, where orders fell 2.6 percent month-on-month, and the third biggest economy Italy, where they dropped 3.2 percent.
Economists expect the eurozone economy to slow down in the third and fourth quarters after a 1.0 percent quarter-on-quarter expansion in the April-June period. The European Commission has forecast economic growth at 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter and 0.3 percent in the fourth. Without the volatile orders for ships, planes and trains, however, the orders were down only 0.6 percent on the month and up 13.6 percent against the same period of last year. Orders for capital goods, which are used in investment, fell 5.1 percent on the month and demand for durable consumer goods dropped 3.2 percent after a 1.3 percent fall in June.
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