US factory orders flat in November

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods were nearly unchanged in November, following a 0.8 percent gain in October, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported Friday. U.S. factory orders increased merely 0.2 billion U.S. dollars to a seasonally adjusted 477.6 billion dollars, up in four of the last five months. New orders for durable goods, big-ticket items such as computers, cars and machinery rose 1.7 billion dollars or 0.8 percent to 220.9 billion dollars in November. That followed an increase of 1.1 percent in October. New orders for nondurable goods, including food, paper products, petroleum and coal products decreased 1.5 billion dollars or 0.6 percent to 256.7 billion dollars in November. Manufacturing sector, a bright spot in the U.S. economic recovery, showed weakness recently as worries grew over the \" fiscal cliff\" which many economists warned would rekindle a recession. The U.S. Congress struck a deal Tuesday, blocking most of the tax hikes and postponing the automatic spending cuts. A separate report released Wednesday from the U.S. Institute of Supply Management showed the manufacturing sector expanded in December, following a month of contraction in November.