Eurozone industrial new orders surged more than three times as much as expected in November against October, boding well for economic growth in the last quarter of 2009 and the first three months of this year. Orders in the 16-country area rose 1.6 percent from October and were 1.5 percent lower than a year earlier, the European Union's statistics office said on Friday.

Economists polled by Reuters had on average expected a 0.5 percent month-on-month increase and a fall of 6.2 percent year-on-year. Eurostat also revised upwards its October orders data to show slightly smaller declines than previously reported. Industrial new orders point to trends in economic activity as they translate into production over the coming months. The eurozone pulled out of recession in the third quarter of 2009 with growth of 0.4 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2010