US Factory Orders Fall to 3 1/2 Year Low in October

New orders for U.S.-made goods fell more than expected in October, constrained by weakening demand, with high interest rates beginning to bite into spending.

Factory orders fell 3.6% after a downwardly revised 2.3% in September, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday, the lowest level since April 2020.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders would decline 2.8%. Orders advanced 0.5% on an annual basis in October.

The manufacturing sector, buoyed by a jump in spending on goods in the third quarter, is increasingly feeling the strain of higher interest rates and adds to signs the economy will more meaningfully slow in the fourth quarter. The sector accounts for 11.1% of the economy.