News Content

US data shows business equipment sales increase after Trump win

ORDERS for US business equipment more than doubled the November forecast - after the election of Donald Trump to US presidency - a sign that corporate investment is rising, reports Bloomberg.

Bookings, excluding aircraft rose 0.9 per cent against the 0.4 per cent forecast in a Bloomberg survey. This gain followed a 0.2 per cent rise the month before.

But Boeing said it received 13 orders for aircraft in November, down from 85 in October, which explains the decline in orders for all big-ticket items.

Demand for all durables - items meant to last at least three years - fell 4.6 per cent on a slump in orders for aircraft.

Rising business sentiment about the economy following the presidential election has the potential to boost sales of productivity-enhancing equipment, said the report.

Leaner inventories, resilient household demand and the longer-term prospects of more infrastructure spending may help boost durable-goods orders even as a soaring dollar risks slowing exports.

"There's some early evidence that business investment may be stabilising," said Moody's Analytics economist Ryan Sweet. "Investment has been a sore spot. Going forward investment should pick up."

Orders for communications equipment jumped 6.7 per cent in November, the most since the start of 2015, the government's data showed. Bookings for machinery increased 1.3 per cent, the biggest gain since January, while orders for primary metals were the strongest this year.

The median forecast for total durable goods in the Bloomberg survey called for a 4.8 per cent drop. Economists' estimates ranged from a drop of 7.5 per cent to a gain of 0.5 per cent. The prior month was revised up to a 4.8 per cent increase.