BRUSSELS, July 23: Factories in the 15 nations sharing the euro saw demand pull back more sharply than expected in May, official EU data showed on Wednesday.

New industrial orders in the eurozone slumped 3.5 per cent in May from April and plunged 4.4 per cent compared with the same month in 2007, the European Union’s Eurostat data agency said.

The result fell far short of economists’ forecasts for orders to fall 2.0 per cent over one month and increase 1.7 per cent from May 2007, as polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

“May’s sharp decline adds to a recent stream of worrying news on the manufacturing sector and, indeed, the eurozone economy overall,” said economist Howard Archer at consultants Global Insight.

The figures marked a sharp deterioration from April when new orders rose 2.0 per cent over one month and surged 12.3 per cent over one year, according to revised figures from Eurostat.

The weakness in May was driven by a sharp drop in orders for transport equipment, which often vary widely from month to month. However, orders for textiles and machinery were also soft.—AFP