Eurozone industrial new orders rose by 0.6 percent in February, compared with the previous month, the European Union (EU)'s statistics bureau Eurostat said Wednesday.

 

The index increased by 9.9 percent over 12 months ago following a monthly growth of 2.2 percent and a yearly increase of 7.1 percent in January, according to revised figures from Eurostat.

 

Excluding ships, railway and aerospace equipment, industrial new orders in February decreased by 0.3 percent from the previous month.

 

In February, new orders for electrical and electronic equipment recorded the largest monthly rise of 1.8 percent. Manufacturing of textiles and textile products grew by 1.7 percent. Chemicals and chemical products increased by 1.1 percent. Basic metals and fabricated metal products gained 0.8 percent. Transport equipment decreased by 0.2 percent and manufacturing of machinery and equipment declined by 0.2 percent.

 

In the 27-nation EU, industrial new orders remained stable month on month and rose by 9.2 percent compared with the same period of 2007.

 

Latvia recorded the highest monthly increase of 20.4 percent. Industrial new orders in Sweden registered the largest drop of 3.4percent. The index in Germany, the biggest economy within the EU, fell by 0.3 percent.