US factory orders down for 5th straight month in Dec

NEW orders for US factory goods fell for a fifth straight month in December, but a smaller-than-previously-reported drop in business spending plans supported views of a rebound in the months ahead.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday new orders for manufactured goods declined 3.4 per cent as demand fell across a broad sector of industries. That followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in November.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new orders received by factories sliding 2.2 per cent. US financial markets were little moved by the data.