New industrial orders rose by 1.5 percent in the 16-nation eurozone in February compared with the previous month, official data said Friday.

The European Union statistic bureau Eurostat said that in the 27-member EU, new orders rose by 1.1 percent in February after an increase of 0.3 percent in January.

Compared with the same month last year, new industrial orders increased 12.2 percent in the eurozone and 12.7 percent in the EU.

Among the various industries, only non-durable consumer goods in February dropped 1.2 percent in the eurozone and 2.7 percent in the EU, compared with the previous month.

On a monthly basis, new orders for intermediate goods rose 2.6 percent in the eurozone, while durable consumer goods increased 2.5 percent and capital goods rose 2.3 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2010)