Sharp decline in Durable Goods – Nomura

By FXStreet FXStreet (Guatemala) – Analysts at Nomura explained that the Census Bureau reported today that total US durable goods orders declined by 5.1% in December, well below expectations (Nomura: -0.2%, Consensus: -0.7%).

Key Quotes:

“Transportation orders declined by 12.4% in December and, as such, orders excluding transportation were down by 1.2%. Notably, core durable goods orders (capital nondefense goods orders excluding aircrafts) declined by 4.3%, the largest decline since February 2015.

Core orders provide a reasonable gauge of the underlying trend in manufacturing demand, so the sharp decline in this measure today suggests that a rebound in industrial activity is unlikely in the near term. In addition, the steep decline places additional downside risk on growth in the manufacturing sector in Q1.

On specific sector details, machinery orders fell by 5.6% – a decline of this magnitude was last seen in October 2014 – as local domestic business investment will likely continue to slow. Orders of primary metals increased by a slight 0.3%, as investment in the oil and gas sector and global demand remain sluggish.

Orders of computers and electronics declined by 2.0%, but demand for these goods far outperformed other categories in 2015. Shipments, which measures current activity, fell by …read more

Source:: FX Street