Official figures show that factories in the euro zone saw demand pull back in July as orders for transport equipment plunged.
New industrial orders tumbled 4% in July from June, though there was annual growth of 10.9%, the EU's Eurostat data agency said. Economists had expected new orders to fall 3% in the month.
The result, which was driven by a drop in often volatile orders for transport equipment, marked a slowdown from June when new industrial orders rose 4.5%.
