WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - New orders for U.S. manufactured goods pulled back by much more than expected in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The Commerce Department said factory orders slid by 0.5 percent in January after surging up by 1.9 percent in December. Economists had expected factory orders to edge down by 0.1 percent.
The report said orders for durable goods dipped by 0.2 percent in January after spiking by 2.8 percent in December, with the drop in durable goods orders unchanged from the estimate reported last week.
New orders for non-durable goods also slumped by 0.8 percent in January after jumping by 1.1 percent in the previous month.
The Commerce Department said shipments of manufactured goods also fell following three consecutive monthly increases, decreasing by 0.5 percent in January after climbing by 0.5 percent in December.
Inventories of manufactured goods also edged down by 0.1 percent in January after rising by 0.4 percent in the previous month.
With inventories and shipments both falling, the inventories-to-shipments ratio in January was unchanged from December at 1.40.
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