Euro zone industrial orders fell 4.0% in July from June, and were up 10.9% year-on-year, EU statistics office Eurostat said.
Eurostat revised its June figure to a 4.5% rise from an increase of 4.4%.
Economists polled by Thomson Financial News had forecast a decline of 3.2% month-on-month in July, and a year-on-year growth rate of 10.2%.
Excluding the volatile ships, railway and aerospace equipment sector, industrial orders fell by 0.1% in July from June, but was up 11.7% year-on-year.