
New orders for U.S.-made goods unexpectedly fell in November amid sharp declines in demand for machinery and electrical equipment, government data showed on Monday.
Factory goods orders fell 0.6 percent, the Commerce Department said, after an unrevised 2.1 percent drop in October.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders rising 0.2 percent in November. The release of the report was delayed by a recently ended five-week partial shutdown of the federal government.