BRUSSELS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Industrial new orders in the euro zone dropped by 2.4 percent in July, compared with the previous month, the European Union (EU)'s statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday.

The index increased by 2.4 percent on monthly basis in June, according to revised figures.

In the 27-member EU, new orders decreased by 2.3 percent month on month in July after an increase of 2.5 percent in June, Eurostat said.

Among various industries, new orders for capital goods dropped by 5.1 percent in the euro zone and by 5.7 percent in the EU. Durable consumer goods decreased by 3.2 percent and 1.7 percent respectively. Intermediate goods fell by 0.1 percent in the euro zone, but grew by 0.5 percent in the EU. Non-durable consumer goods rose by 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.

Among the EU member states for which data were available, total manufacturing working on orders fell in fourteen, rose in seven and remained unchanged in Latvia on monthly basis. The largest decrease was recorded in Denmark, down by 22.1 percent, and the highest increase in Ireland, up by 7.4 percent.

Compared with July 2009, industrial new orders increased by 11. 2 percent in the euro zone and by 12.5 percent in the EU.