US durable goods orders dip in December, details stronger

Orders in the US for goods made to last more than three years slipped in December amid a sharp drop in those for defence aircraft and parts.

However, orders for capital goods, a key barometre of investment trends in the economy, picked up a tad, outpacing economists' forecasts.

Durable goods orders dipped 0.4% month-on-month to reach $227.02bn, according to the Commerce Department.

Analysts had projected an increase of 2.9%.

Orders excluding the transportation sector grew 0.5% on the month $153.36bn, while excluding defence they were higher by 1.7% to $215.31bn.

The biggest drop was seen in orders for defence aircraft and parts, which fell by 63.9% to $2.75bn.

Orders for capital goods excluding those from defence and aircraft grew 0.8% over the month to $64.5bn (consensus: 0.5%), but were down by 3.4% over the year.