January core capital goods orders fall 0.4%, against expectations

Washington

NEW orders for US-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in January after three straight months of strong gains, but did little to change views that manufacturing was recovering from a prolonged slump amid rising commodity prices.

The Commerce Department said on Monday that non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, dropped 0.4 per cent after an upwardly revised 1.1 per cent increase in December.