US manufactured goods orders almost unchanged in December

Orders of major US manufactured goods were virtually unchanged in December from a month earlier, government data showed Thursday, with primary metals orders up, and transportation equipment orders down.

New durable goods orders for November were revised slightly higher, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

The figure of $295.6 billion for December was almost flat from the new revised figures, and came in below the 0.1 percent increase expected by the financial markets, according to Briefing.com.


"Durable goods were weaker than expected in December," High Frequency Economics (HFE) chief US economist Rubeela Farooqi wrote in a note to clients.

Primary metals orders, which have grown in three of the last four months, rose 1.4 percent last month, providing much of the positive push, the Commerce Department said.

However, this was counteracted by a drop in transportation and defense aircraft orders, which declined by 0.9 and 2.9 percent, respectively.

On an annual basis, durable goods orders rose by 4.4 percent last year, boosted by computers and transportation orders.

"Looking ahead, companies continue to face headwinds from higher borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions," Farooqi from HFE said.

"However, lower interest rates and easing financial conditions this year could provide support over time," she added.