Investing.com - U.S. durable goods orders were flat in November, while core orders dipped unexpectedly, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, were unchanged last month, compared to forecasts for a decline of 0.6%. Orders for durable goods in October rose 2.9%.
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 0.1% in November, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.1%. Core durable goods orders rose 0.5% in October.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, decreased 0.4% last month, worse than expectations for a decline of 0.1%.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, decreased 0.5% in November, confounding forecasts for a gain of 0.5%.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0913 from around 1.0917 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4892 from 1.4889 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 120.88 from 120.90 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 98.38, compared to 98.39 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 91 points, or 0.52%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise 7 points, or 0.33%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 16 points, or 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,071.40 a troy ounce, compared to $1,070.70 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $36.83 a barrel from $36.81 earlier.