U.S. Durable Goods Orders Slump Less Than Expected In December

(RTTNews) - New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods pulled back by less than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders slumped by 1.4 percent in December after spiking by an upwardly revised 5.4 percent in November.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 2.3 percent compared to the 5.3 percent surge that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders increased by 0.9 percent in December after climbing by 0.4 percent in November. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.