U.S. durable goods orders remain stable in November, investment may quicken in 2017

U.S. durable goods orders and shipments remained stable in November. Durable goods orders dropped 4.6 percent in the month as aircraft orders dropped 73.5 percent. Core capital goods orders came in consistent with projections, growing strongly by 0.9 percent in sequential terms. Core capital goods shipments also rose, growing 0.2 percent month-on-month. Core capital goods orders and shipments are a significant input to the BEA’s estimate of equipment investment in GDP, noted Barclays in a research report.

Equipment investment is expected to rise modestly for the remainder of the year. Neither orders nor shipments have shown a sustainable upward movement that might show a near-term acceleration in equipment investment; but capital goods orders and shipments appear to have stabilized.

Overall, this report indicates slight change in the present outlook for investment with certain hope that the modest increase in orders might result in slightly more rapid investment in 2017, according to Barclays.

At 07:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -43.5014. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex