A gauge of U.S. business investment plans fell in November and the prior month’s increase was revised sharply lower as the drag on manufacturing from a strong dollar and spending cuts in the energy sector showed little sign of abating.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, dropped 0.4 percent last month.
These so-called core capital goods orders rose by a revised 0.6 percent in October. They were previously reported to have risen 1.3 percent.
