US: Durable Goods Orders rose 2.4% in December vs. 0.5% expected

• Durable Goods Orders rebound in December following November's drop.
• US Dollar Index clings to daily gains above 98 after data.

Durable Goods Orders in the United States rose 2.4% on a monthly basis in December following November's decline of 3.1% (revised from 2%), the data published by the US Census Bureau showed on Tuesday. This reading came in better than the market expectation for an increase of 0.5%.

"Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.1%," the press release read. "Excluding defense, new orders decreased 2.5%. Transportation equipment, up following three consecutive monthly decreases, drove the increase, $5.9 billion or 7.6% to $82.9 billion."

USD reaction

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar's performance against a basket of six major currencies, ignored the data and was last at 98.07, adding 0.14% on a daily basis.