December factory orders post biggest fall in a year

Washington

NEW orders for US factory goods fell in December by the most in a year as manufacturing continued to reel from the headwinds of a strong US dollar and weak overseas demand.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday that new orders for manufactured goods dropped 2.9 per cent, the largest drop since December 2014, after a downwardly revised 0.7 per cent fall in November. Factory orders fell 6.6 per cent in 2015.