Oil prices rise on factory-orders news

Recession fears ease as report shows businesses investing in equipment

By Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Press Services

Orders to U.S. factories rose in December by the most in five months, indicating business spending on new equipment is growing even as hiring falters.

Oil prices jumped at the news Monday, giving investors some hope that the economy will dodge a recession that would curtail demand for energy.

The 2.3 percent increase in factory orders follows a revised 1.7 percent advance the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Monday in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey projected a gain of 2.5 percent. Excluding orders for transportation equipment, demand climbed 0.7 percent.

Exports and gains in investment may help prevent a collapse in manufacturing as the housing slump and a slowdown in consumer spending push the economy to the brink of a recession. Job cuts jumped 19 percent in January from a year earlier, Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said in a separate report Monday, led by banks and construction companies.

For more information see today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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