Eurozone industrial new orders came in well below expectations in September, hit by dips in chemicals and metals, and economists warned of a sharp growth slowdown next year as record euro strength takes its toll.
The European Union statistics office said on Thursday that orders in the 13 countries using the euro fell 1.6 percent month-on-month and rose 2.0 percent year-on-year.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.8 percent decline on the month and a rise of 6.1 percent year-on-year. Eurostat revised its August data upwards to increases of 0.8 percent from the previous month and 5.3 percent versus a year earlier, versus the previously reported rises of 0.3 percent monthly and 5.1 percent year-on-year. Without volatile orders for transport equipment, industrial orders fell 1.9 percent on the month in September and rose 2.8 percent on the year.
The biggest monthly falls were in chemicals and chemical products, down 3.3 percent, and in basic metals and fabricated metal products, down 2.7 percent.