NEW YORK, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell in November, reversing course after an October increase, said official data on Monday.
Manufacturers' new orders totaled 586.1 billion U.S. dollars in November, down 0.4 percent from 588.2 billion dollars in October, according to the Commerce Department. Economists had expected a 0.3 percent decline in orders.
Orders for durable goods, intended for longer-term use, did worse, declining by 1.2 percent. Declining orders for ships and boats, some defense equipment and fabricated metal products outweighed gains in orders for photography equipment, metalworking machinery and electric-lighting equipment. Nondurable goods orders grew 0.4 percent.
"Other indicators from the report on factory activity showed a more positive trend," reported The Wall Street Journal about the development. "Shipments grew by 0.1 percent to 586.3 billion dollars, ending a three-month stretch of declines."
