U.S. Durable Goods rise in December beat expectations.

January 29, 2008 - Forex Economic News

Durable goods orders in the U.S. increased in December beating market expectations in a report released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. December saw a 5.2 percent rise in new orders for durable goods which amounted to an increase of $11.2 billion over November for a total of $226.6 billion, easily eclipsing market expectations of an increase between 1.1 and 1.4 percent. This was the second straight month of increase in orders after November increased by 0.5 percent following a decrease in October. Durable goods are products manufactured in the U.S. and considered to last more than three years.

Overall for the year of 2007, durable goods orders increased by 1 percent. December results for shipments of durable goods decreased by 0.1 percent. Unfilled orders increased 2.5 percent and December durable good inventories increased 1.1 percent from November which saw a 0.8 gain. December nondefense orders for new goods rose by 5.4 percent while defense orders for goods jumped 80.6 percent.

Tags: Durable Goods, Unfilled orders, inventories, nondefense orders------------------------------------------------------------------------------------