Forex Fundamentals Roundup - U.S. Durable goods up 0.1%, Consumer Confidence increases, Jobless claims rise.

December 27, 2007 - Forex Economic News

U.S. durable goods orders were up 0.1% in November according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. Durable goods are products manufactured in the U.S. and considered to last more than three years. The 0.1 percent rise in November was below market forecasts but an improvement over the 0.4 percent decline in October.

U.S. Consumer Confidence rose in December according to data released by The Conference Board, a leading business research organization. The Consumer Confidence index increased to a score of 88.6 in December, up from 87.8 in November and it was the first increase in five months. The index is based on a survey of 5,000 households in the United States. The Present Situation Index decreased to 108.3 in December from 115.7 in November and the Expectations Index rose to 75.5 in December from 69.1 in November according to the release.

U.S. unemployment claims increased last week by 1,000 people to a total of 349,000 according to data released today by the U.S. Labor Department. Workers receiving unemployment benefits for more than one week increased by 75,000 to 2,713,000 in the week that ended December 15th. This is the most claiming unemployment benefits for more than a week since November of 2005.

Tags: Consumer Confidence, Durable Goods, Unemployment------------- Blog index