US core capital goods orders and shipments increase solidly in December

New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased more than expected in December and shipments of these products surged, cementing economists' expectations that business spending on equipment remained solid in the fourth quarter.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 0.6% after an upwardly revised 0.8% increase in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders advancing 0.4% after a previously reported 0.4% gain in November. Shipments of core capital goods jumped 0.9% after climbing 0.2% in November. 

The report, which was delayed by last year's shutdown of the federal government, was published ahead of the Bureau of Economic Analysis' advance estimate of gross domestic product for the fourth quarter on Friday. 

Business spending on equipment is being boosted by an artificial intelligence investment boom, which has fueled rapid growth in data centers. But tariffs on imports have stifled manufacturing that is not tied to AI. Economists expect a broad manufacturing sector recovery this year as some of the uncertainty from tariffs fades and cuts take effect.

Business spending on equipment is forecast to have notched a fourth straight quarter of growth. The economy likely grew at a 3.0% annualized rate in the fourth quarter after expanding at a 4.4% pace in the July-September quarter, a Reuters survey of economists showed. 

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)