U.S. factory orders rise more than expected in December

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the value of new factory orders rose 1.1 percent m-o-m in December, following a revised 1.3 percent m-o-m climb in November (originally a 1.0 percent m-o-m advance). That marked the eighth consecutive month of gains in factory orders.

Economists had forecast a 0.7 percent m-o-m gain.

According to the report, orders for transportation equipment fell 0.8 percent m-o-m in December compared to a 2.0 percent m-o-m rise in November. This drop, however, was more than offset by gains in orders for machinery (+2.7 percent m-o-m), fabricated metals (+1.2 percent m-o-m), primary metals (+0.6 percent m-o-m), computers and electronic products (+0.1 percent m-o-m) and electrical equipment, appliances and components (+0.7 percent m-o-m).

Meanwhile, total factory orders excluding transportation, a volatile part of the overall reading, rose 1.4 percent m-o-m in December (compared to an upwardly revised 1.1 percent m-o-m gain in November), while orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a measure of business spending plans, increased 0.7 percent m-o-m (compared to a 1.2 percent m-o-m advance in the previous month) instead of advancing 0.6 percent m-o-m as reported last month. The report also showed that shipments of core capital goods advanced 0.7 percent m-o-m in December, rather than gaining 0.5 percent m-o-m as previously reported.