BRUSSELS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Euro zone industrial new orders plunged more than expected in November versus a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, underlining the speed with which the single currency area slid deeper into recession.
European Union statistics office Eurostat said industrial new orders in the 15 countries using the euro in November fell 4.5 percent month-on-month and 26.2 percent year-on-year -- the biggest annual drop on record.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 4.8 percent monthly drop and an 18.8 percent annual decline.
Economists said the data reinforced expectations that the euro zone economy contracted much more markedly in the fourth quarter of last year than the 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter drops seen in the third and second quarters. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)