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WASHINGTON—New orders for U.S.–made capital goods rose moderately in November while shipments fell, pointing to a slowdown in business spending on equipment this quarter as higher borrowing costs cool demand for goods.
Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 0.2 percent last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. These so-called core capital goods orders increased 0.3 percent in October.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that core capital goods orders would be unchanged. Core capital goods increased 8.8 percent on a year-on-year basis in November.
The data is not adjusted for inflation. Slowing price increases, a strong dollar, and a shift in spending from goods to services likely contributed to the moderation in core capital goods orders. That is hurting manufacturing, which accounts for 11.3 percent of the economy....