U.S.: Headline miss in otherwise solid durable goods report - Wells Fargo Securities

According to ActionForex, analysts at Wells Fargo Securities note that today's U.S. durable goods report signals that while the post-shutdown surge has faded, underlying strength continues to propel orders and shipment to record levels. Meanwhile, the headline miss is mostly attributable to a drop in aircraft orders.

"Durable goods orders finished the year with lost momentum as the sequential increase slowed in each of the final three months of the year. December’s monthly gain of just 0.2% was well short of consensus expectations, although the monthly figures for November were revised slightly higher. Despite some soft spots, the details were broadly encouraging."

"Civilian aircraft orders dropped 51.8% in December. Historically December is the biggest month for aircraft orders, so the plunge here may say more about the seasonal adjustment process during a generally difficult year for the aviation sector than some specific new deterioration for aircraft makers."

"Stripping away the volatile transportation orders, we see orders actually besting expectations slightly, rising 0.7% versus an expected gain of only half a percentage point."