Rising by the most in four months, US factory orders gained on par with market estimates in the month of November.  According to Commerce Department figures, factory orders advanced by a 1.8% pace – compared to earlier estimates of a 1.9% gain.  The figure reverses the 0.2% revised decline in October and lends some optimism for the future of the US economy.

Matching a previously reported 3.7% pace in durable goods orders, the factory report is indicative of a pickup in the manufacturing sector, the backbone for the US recovery in the last two years.  As with both durable goods and previous ISM reports, the headline factory number reflected a similar increase in automobile and aircraft spending, while investment in computers and electronics dipped on the month.  Manufacturing data provided by the Institute for Supply Management yesterday showed the sharpest rise in US output in six months – rising to 53.9 in December from a previous 52.7.

The new figures are helping to compound Euro losses against the US dollar, with the currency pair falling to 1.2900, trading lower by 1.15%.