Investing.com - U.S. durable goods orders fell much more than expected in December, while core orders also fell sharply, underlining concerns over the health of the economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 5.1% last month, compared to forecasts for a decline of 0.6%. Orders for durable goods in November fell 0.5%.
Durable goods are typically bulky or heavy products designed to last at three years, such as trains, planes and automobiles.
Core durable goods orders, excluding volatile transportation items, fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.2% in December, disappointing expectations for a drop of 0.1%. Core durable goods orders slumped 0.5% in November.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, plunged 4.3% last month, far worse than expectations for a decline of 0.2%.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, dipped 0.2% in December, confounding forecasts for a gain of 0.8%.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0920 from around 1.0913 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4319 from 1.4323 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 118.80 from 118.86 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 98.82, compared to 98.87 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures rose 9 points, or 0.06%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 4 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 30 points, or 0.72%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,119.80 a troy ounce, compared to $1,118.70 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $32.75 a barrel from $32.82 earlier.