Industrial orders in the 15-nation eurozone fell in September due to dim economic prospect, said official EU figures released in Brussels on Monday.

Caused by the fall of demand for basic metal and fabricated metal products and transport equipment, industrial orders in the eurozone slipped 3.9 percent in September, compared with August, exceeding the expected 3.3 percent, said the Statistics Office of the European Communities (Eurostat).

The figure fell 1.1 percent over that in the same month of last year, while experts expected a 3.2-percent fall.

Eurostat said that new orders in August fell 1.5 percent over the previous month and 6.4 percent over August in 2007 after revision.

In the 27-nation European Union (EU), new industrial orders shrank 4.6 percent in September compared on a monthly basis and 1.1 percent on a yearly basis, according to the Eurostat.

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2008)