New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods surged in November amid strong demand for machinery and electrical products, offering more signs that the economy is on solid footing as the year ends.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rebounded 0.7% after dipping 0.1% in October, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders gaining 0.1%.

Core capital goods shipments increased 0.4% year on year.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Mark Porter)