US Dec durable goods orders rise below expectations

WASHINGTON Jan 28 (Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods increased less than expected in December, restrained by an unexpected drop in civilian aircraft bookings, a government report showed on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 0.3 percent after a 0.4 percent decline in November, which had been reported as a 0.7 percent drop in the government's most recent report.

The government this month revised down factory and durable goods orders data for November, citing a processing error.

Analysts polled by Reuters forecast orders rising 2 percent last month on the basis of 59 aircraft orders received by Boeing (BA.N), up from only nine in November.

The report showed non-defense aircraft and parts orders tumbled 38.2 percent last month after a 40.0 percent drop the month before. Defense aircraft orders rose 14.7 percent after a 10.4 percent fall in November.

Orders for the whole of 2009 fell a record 20.2 percent, the department said.

Durable goods orders are a leading indicator of manufacturing activity, which in turn provides a good measure for overall business health.

The data came ahead of Friday's release of the fourth-quarter gross domestic product report, which is expected to show an acceleration in the growth pace as businesses liquidated inventories less aggressively and in some cases started rebuilding stock.

New durable goods orders excluding transportation rose 0.9 percent last month after increasing 2.1 percent in November, the department said. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected new orders, excluding transportation to rise 0.5 percent.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 1.3 percent in December from a 3.1 percent rise the prior month.

Durable goods inventories fell 0.2 percent last month after slipping 0.2 percent in November. Shipments, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, surged 2.9 percent last month-- the biggest rise since July. They rose 0.8 percent in November. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)