November factory orders drop more than expected

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders received by U.S. factories plunged a much-greater-than-expected 4.6 percent in November, the fourth straight monthly decline and a sign the sharp drop in manufacturing is deepening the recession, a government report showed on Tuesday.

It was the first time factory orders had fallen for four consecutive months since the government began assembling the data in its current form in 1992, the Commerce Department said. Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting factory orders to drop 2.5 percent.

An indicator of business confidence rose, however, as non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft rose 3.9 percent, the biggest rise since December 2007.

The total value of shipments fell 5.3 percent, the sharpest drop since the government began assembling the data.

November durable goods orders fell by 1.5 percent, a steeper drop than the 1 percent originally reported.

The U.S. factory sector has been particularly hard-hit in the downturn that began in December 2007. A widely watched gauge

of factory activity fell to a 28-year low in December while auto sales plunged by 36 percent that month, recent reports have shown.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Editing by Andrea Ricci)