Tuesday, December 24, 2002

Durable Goods Orders Fall


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. durable goods orders fell unexpectedly last month as demand weakened for a wide range of long-lasting manufactured goods, the government said on Tuesday in a report that underscored businesses' reluctance to spend.

Orders for durable goods -- costly items intended to last three years or more -- slid 1.4 percent in November after a revised 1.7 percent October rise, the Commerce Department said.

The report, which showed drops in orders for most categories of durable goods, was much weaker than expected on Wall Street, where economists were looking for a 0.7 percent gain. The dollar dropped on the data.

not good.