WASHINGTON High oil prices drive up factory orders

Orders to U.S. factories jumped in November by the largest amount in four months. The increase was driven by higher petroleum prices and was not viewed as a sign of any newfound strength in manufacturing.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that orders for manufactured goods rose by 1.5 percent in November, the biggest rise since a 3.4 percent surge in July.

But all the strength came in demand for nondurable goods, which shot up 3 percent, reflecting higher oil prices. Orders for durable goods, everything from appliances to autos, fell by 0.1 percent, the fourth straight monthly decline.

Analysts said the drop in durable goods reflected the problems facing factories right now. On Wednesday, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its closely watched manufacturing gauge plunged to 47.7 in December, the lowest reading since the spring of 2003 when business confidence was hurt by uncertainties surrounding the invasion of Iraq.

Any reading below 50 is a sign that manufacturing is contracting.

Private businesses added a modest 40,000 jobs to their payrolls in December, according to a separate report by payroll giant Automatic Data Processing and forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers.

The total of 336,000 jobless claims was the lowest weekly figure in three weeks. It followed a revised claims total of 357,000 last week, which had been the highest weekly total since October 2005 when layoffs had surged in the aftermath of a series of devastating hurricanes along the Gulf Coast.