Official figures show that factories in the euro zone saw demand unexpectedly fall in May compared with April.
New industrial orders fell by 0.2% in May, the EU's Eurostat data agency said, bringing the drop over 12 months to just over 30%. They fell 0.7% in April, according to revised figures.
Analysts had forecast a rise of around 2% for May. In the 27-nation EU, new industrial orders rose by 0.9% in May, giving a decrease of 28% over the year from May 2008.
